Merry Christmas to All!!!

We had a lovely Christmas, very mellow, at home just the three of us along with my sister. It was nice and relaxed, and the baby took it all in nicely. He was mostly interested in walking all around the room saying "Uh-Oh", his new word and something he says pretty darned often these days. Quincy received a couple toys, one from Grandpa Gary and one from Santa, but he was mostly interested in paper and a variety of other items he shouldn't be getting into. I do love this time of year, but it is sometimes a little bit of a relief once it is all over. Now the clean up begins!!

In addition to clean up, there are also party plans to be made! Quin's first birthday is coming up so soon. January 6th, and I have a lot to do before then. Thankfully my mom will be here visiting for a few days, and that will allow me the extra pair of hands I need to get my list of chores completed. We will have a small birthday party with some friends and family to celebrate that we now officially are out of "infancy" and into "toddler"-dom. I am absolutely astounded when I really think about it more than 30 seconds. My little tiny boy is growing up so fast, and I just can't seem to slow it down.

Baby Steps

With the busy holiday season, I have not been able to stay updated on our blog!!! The last few weeks have brought quite a bit of excitement... first we had some major snow, about 9 inches, then it immediately melted off with a major rainstorm coming through. Dan is always like a little boy when it snows. He just wants to go out and play! Quin will have a playmate whenever we receive snow as long as his daddy is here, thats for sure! Quincy has also turned 11 months old. I am amazed that he is almost 1 year old. How time flies.... I must start planning for the big ol' birthday bash! Reports from daycare are that he has started walking this week, although we have yet to witness it. He simply refuses to walk for us as he prefers to be held (hmmm... spoiled?) He has also started pointing at items, which is actually quite helpful. Now I have some idea as to what it is he wants!!! This week he had a high fever, but still made it to visit Santa Claus. No big smiles or hugs for Santa, however. I think if he had had a better nap and bottle beforehand we could have seen some better results. Oh Well, many years ahead to visit old Saint Nick. We have purchased a little Christmas tree and put it up high on a card table at the paediatricians recommendation. It is still very pretty... just small, and that's OK because smaller equals cheaper and daycare costs are taking a heavier toll than we anticipated! Thankfully Quincy could care less how many gifts Santa brings him this year! Don't worry though, we still have managed to get some Christmas shopping in! Happy Holidays to all!!

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice Thanksgiving, with a house full of family. I had some help from my sister the night before, and some help from both of my sister in law's the day of, and altogether I think it came out alright. There was only a brief moment when I questioned my own sanity, and then the food was ready and I was OK again.

Quin, in his usual form, was quite the entertainer. He was dressed in his nicest outfit and was on his best behavior. He smiled and laughed for all the guests, and of course was quite adored by all. He also ate up everything put before him!!! Not too much of a surprise there. He does love most food we give him. He had turkey, yams, potatoes au gratin, and green beans... but his REAL FAVORITE was PUMPKIN PIE! He cried for more and more! Uh Oh. I may be creating a "sweets" monster, just like his mommy. We don't want that.

Now we must prepare for Christmas!! Can't wait!

The Big 3 - OH!!!!

It is here. The inevitable has occured. I could not escape the quick approach of my 30's and here they are. I know as I head into my 30's that is isn't as bad as I am making it out to be. After all, I have an incredible family, an amazing child and dear husband. I have a lovely home and a good, fullfilling job (most of the time). I am healthy and young (at heart). I have many more adventures ahead of me and a lot of things left to accomplish. The most important of these is the task of raisnig a kind, thoughtful and intelligent young man, and with the help of my kind, thoughtful and intelligent husband I think we are well on our way. In the next ten years I would like to have more children. Dan and I have realized over the last 10 months what an absolute joy it is to have a family. I would like to stop the silly yo-yo dieting, and just focus on being healthy, active and comfortable in my own skin. I would like to find more time for myself, to achieve personal growth. If I am not complete, I know I cannot be a complete mother and wife. I want to be a better wife. Dan deserves that. All very big things to look forward to.

Having a great birthday so far. At work everyone dressed in black and white, and my desk was all decorated in black and white by dear friends. I am so lucky to love the people I work with. Tonight they have planned for a fun night out in Seattle, and we have a babysitter all lined up! This morning, my dear husband got up with the baby and I got to sleep in until nearly 10am! Oh BLISS!!! Then I was treated to a pumpkin muffin and latte for breakfast. Its been a very nice day.

Depsite turning 30.

Trick Or Treat!!

Quincy's first Halloween was quite a lot of fun! It was a cold, dry night and EVERYBODY was out! We met up with some friends and their kids, who are actually old enough to know what Halloween is all about.... CANDY! Quin stayed up way past his bedtime and was very, very tired by the end of the night. He was the most adorable little tiger, but I knew he would be. We also went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. It was a very short trip,

just long enough to get some nice pictures of the experience. It was an extremely cold and frosty morning, so none of us lasted long. It has been a very fun week for us, and I am looking forward to the next couple months.

Hotel Williams: No Vacancy!

It has been quite a busy, yet enjoyable week of visitors here for us! My dear friend Darla was here for a short visit, and then as she left, my mom (or "Granny" as she is now called!) and brother Tyson came rolling in. They arrived very late Thursday night and planned to leave Tuesday. With the extreme fires in Southern California however, it was decided that it just DIDN'T make sense to rush back and their trip was extended a couple more days. It was a nice visit, although poor Tyson ended up catching the flu bug while he was here. I felt just terrible! I thought I had done such a good job of cleaning up all the little germies before they arrived. Not too fun having the stomach flu, and being stuck on somebody else's couch! Luckily he recovered and was able to spend at least sometime enjoying his visit here. I think he did at least. Time was mostly spent just enjoying Quincy, but they had a couple days to scoot around the city, and see the beautiful fall colors we have here in the Pacific Northwest. I tell ya, there isn't much like it down in California! Dan and I took advantage of overnight babysitting, and spent a glorious night in Seattle... and didn't wake up until 10am! Oh HEAVEN! Just like the old days! It was really nice to get away and just spend some time with each other away from our current "mommy" and "daddy" roles.

The fires in San Diego seemed to be pretty scary, and there were moments when it appeared that they could affect our family in a more dramatic way. Mom called home to make sure everyone knew where to find the family photos in case it came down to saving something from fire. Luckily, Vista was spared from evacuations and everyone was able to stay put and just wait it out. Many people were not so lucky, as you all know.

It has been a very eventful month, and for Quincy it is no exception! After he got over the stomach flu, and remainder of a cold and cough he had battled all month long he developed a slight ear infection! He was absolutely inconsolable! Two days in a row, he spent several hours crying and crying and there was nothing at all I could do to comfort him. I ended up crying along with him from sheer helplessness. I couldn't stand to see my sweet boy so upset. It was an extremely difficult week, but we caught it and got antibiotics before Granny and Uncle Tyson came to visit. They were spared the agony of watching hearing him cry for hours! He is MUCH better now, and back to his adorable self. He is officially crawling like a champ, and he has tooth #5 popping up now! He is growing so fast, and his little personality really shows. He gets frustrated when things don't happen as he would like... a toy doesn't do what he wants, mommy holds onto his bottle when he wants to hold it by himself, mommy won't let him get into the bathroom cupboards, etc. I feel bad that more often than not, I just want to laugh because it is so funny to see! We picked out his Halloween costume too! I am so excited for the holidays, and his first Halloween... Thanksgiving... Christmas... New Years... then Birthday!!! Wow!

Williams house of sickness

No pictures to go along with this post! They wouldn't be pretty!! My heart lept in my throat Friday afternoon when I saw a missed call from Quin's daycare... whatever could be wrong!! He had been throwing up and they asked my to come and get him. Poor baby boy, he was so lethargic and just wanted to be cuddled. I knew something was off that morning when he cried every time I sat him down to get ready for work... not something he usually does. Lucky mommy, I got thrown up on 5 times! But my sweet boy still wanted to give mama "love" and big open mouth kisses. Yum. Sure enough 36 hours later, guess who else was sick? Poor Dan had to go from taking care of a crabby, sick baby to a crabby, sick wife. He deserves a medal. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that we are done, especially because my mom and brother are going to be here to visit in a few days! We don't want them to get sick too. The worst part of all, was that it was a GORGEOUS weekend, and we had planned to make Quincy's first trip to the pumpkin patch with Auntie Jerrie, Uncle Karl and the cousins. I am so sad we had to miss it! We will have to try and make a trip, just the three of us, soon.

Love and HEALTH to all!

Can't keep a good baby down!

As Quin approaches the 9 month mark, he has decided that simply sitting is no longer a viable option. He MUST be crawling, or standing at all times. In the bath I battle to keep in sitting down, and when changing his dirty diapers I resort to physically holding the boy down in order to avoid a gigantic poopy mess. And something I have learned over the last few months... just because he is 1/10 my size does not mean he only has 1/10 my strength!!! I am going to have to go to the gym just to keep up with him.

October is here, and the fall weather is along with it in full force. It is chilly and the leaves are beginning to turn. I caught a great photo last weekend of Dan and Quin as our little family ventured into the "big city" for an adventure at the Freemont Flea Market. Driving in Seattle is not something we do often now that we live in the mountains of North Bend, even after promising ourselves we would return at least once a month when we moved here. We had a fun day, and Quincy was a very good boy! He wins all kinds of admirers everywhere we go. I think we even got some good deals on a few purchases just because of the extra cute baby we had with us!

Auntie Chet (Jessica) is back in town for a few weeks, and we have been able to spend some time with her which is always fun. We love to hear of her adventures and hi-jinks while on the road travelling. I especially like the extra set of hands to help with the baby so I can do things, like sleep. Dan and I usually get at least one date out the deal too, which we need desperately! Its really hard to stay connected as husband and wife when we are pulled in so many other directions, but we both know how important it is for our family.

Hope all is well with our dear family and friends reading this! Love to all!
D, C & Q

Quincy: Daredevil extraordinaire

.... And the parents that save his life every day!


Yes, Quincy is making it apparent to us that babyproofing will have to begin VERY soon! This week he was caught mid-plummet by Dan from his highchair, even after being belted in! He is also learning to climb up the stairs to our jetted tub, and is become quite adept at climbing up whatever he can find to stand up: crib sides, pant legs, mommy and daddy... you name it. He has no fear!! I guess he is leaving that all up to me!

Bad news for Dan yesterday, he did not get the job he applied for last week. Disappointing, but now we just have to hope that whoever DID get the job will do it well, and not annoy Dan further! After a week of working early, I am really not sure how long he will last. He is just not an early morning person! I like that he goes to bed at a relatively decent hour though, and I also like the limited hours at daycare for Quin.

We received some fun news on Thursday, Our nephew and his wife are expecting their third baby early next year and they found out it will be a boy. So Quin will have a little cousin who is just a little bit younger, to play all kinds of rough and tumble boy games with at all the family festivities! It also means that I have a somebody to take all these clothes Quin has grown out of!

Thanks again for reading!
Have a great week!
D,C and Q

A Big Week

Hello everyone! It is our weekly update, and it has been a pretty good and somewhat eventful week. As I mentioned in our last post, Dan had a job interview for a supervisor position. We won't know until sometime next week if he will interview a second time, or what the outcome of his first interview was. He feels confident though, he put a lot of thought into preparing for this and was able to answer the questions with strong examples. He did his very best, so I am proud no matter what the decision. I don't know if I will ever again get to see him in this expensive suit we bought for him, so I made him take a picture this morning and thought I would share it with you all. The man cleans up so well! He has had quite the head cold this week, so he is hoping to feel better soon. One of the joys of having a baby in daycare now... we get to share our illnesses for weeks!


Quin is growing and changing everyday! When I picked him up from daycare yesterday they said he was fussy and needy, and sure enough... a little nub of a tooth is breaking through! So, teeth #3 and 4 look like they are on their way! He was pretty fussy last night, but is back to a perfect angel as of today! He is scooting all over the place, not officially crawling but he sure can get from Point A to Point B in a hurry. He knows what he wants and he can get there quickly, unfortunately what he usually wants in something he shouldn't be getting into! Today on our way home from work I sat in back with him while Dan drove. I realized something... I am missing out on ALL the fun sitting up front!!! I have the funniest boy! He is all about games and laughing, for the first time ever he played peek-a-boo with me! He help onto his burp rag and covered his face up while I said "Where is Quincy?..." and dropped the cloth for me to say "THERE HE IS!" and he giggled and giggled! Over and over he did this, guess he likes Peek-a-boo! I nearly cried from pride and laughter.


I wonder still if I am making the right choice. I work so hard, and so many hours that I just miss out on so much with him. I had one day this week when I thought to myself "I work with babies all day, why can't I be with the baby I love?!", but other days are rewarding and I know that he enjoys playing with all the toys they have there! Interaction with other babies is good for him, but I wish we could be together more often. Typically Dan is dropping him off around 8:30am, and I pick him up about 5:30pm... that's 9 hours! He is only awake for about 13 and 1 of those hours is spent driving! So, all-in-all we are together playing, eating, bathing, getting ready for the day or for bed about 3 hours or so. It's just not enough time. Dan is going start working earlier however and this will put my mind at ease. Dan will be able to pick him up by about 3:30pm, and he will have Sunday's and Monday's off. That means only 4 days at daycare... but it also means only 1 day that we will be together as a family. Not sure if I like that trade-off!
But I suppose that could all change with a supervisor job, and we will just have to wait and see on that.

That's all from "Team Williams" this week. Love to all!

D, C and Q

Let the fun begin!

My first update!

I hope this helps everyone feel connected despite any distance! What a world we live in, to be able to share items through technology! Thanks for the idea Erin!!! It is pretty late, and Quin was up last night late. He woke up at 1am and would not fall back asleep like he usually does! After 40 minutes of listening to him cry, I finally gave in and brought him into bed with us. Not a good night sleep for mommy! I should be going to bed instead of blogging!!

Dan is going to be interviewing for a supervisor position sometime this week! So if everyone would keep him in your thoughts, he is studying hard!! It won't be too much more money, but I think he will be much happier as a leader.

OK. The soft bed beckons.

Love to all!
Mama Cicely