Farewell Matilda

We said goodbye to our dear companion of many years this weekend. Rest in peace Matilda. We love you and you will be missed.

Celebrating 14 months!

Dan and I have taken a few days off of work, something we both needed badly, to spend some good quality family time together. Quincy turned 14 months on Thursday, and we decided to do something fun. We went on his first visit to the Zoo. It wasn't Woodland Park in Seattle, but a smaller and lesser known Zoo in Issaquah. It was perfect, a small "taste" of the Zoo without the crowds. They had two tigers, some cougars and lemurs and lots of parrots, reindeer and alpacas. Quin's favorite parts of the Zoo were all the brass animal statues, steps to go up and down on, and the highlight of the trip... wooden benches to climb on (can I tell you how glad I am he was free?). He was such a good boy all day long, even without a good nap in. It was a very fun day. Today the fun continued! Quincy and I got some free passes to the "Kids Quest" museum we went to last week with Darla and Millie and decided to visit again, this time with Daddy. He just loves that place, although today's visit was MUCH busier than our last mellow Wednesday afternoon visit. It was still a lot of fun and we had to tear him away from the place, but I wasn't going to let him skip a nap again today. That results in a very crabby baby! His favorite part of today was playing with the water exhibits they have. That was Dan's favorite part too, he made a dam, and was like a little kid! We still have 3 more days off work, and I am hoping that at least one day will be spent getting some much needed projects done around the house (much to Dan's dismay!)

A Big Boy Haircut!

Sorry Auntie Chet... it had to be done! Quincy's hair was getting so shaggy, that Dan and I made the decision it was time for his first haircut. He did amazingly well, only getting extra squirrely when the electric clippers made an appearance. He was pretty serious the entire time, but no tears or fear at all. Now he just looks like such a big boy. I just keep look at him thinking how handsome he looks, all grown up. Dan was recently reminiscing about all the little baby things he misses... laying in bed as a family while Quincy kicks his legs and giggles, and holding him while he "jumps". He just keeps growing up and amazing us. Apparently he is quite the comedian at daycare, always entertaining the other kids and teachers. Where does he get that from?!

A fun visit with friends!

We had a very fun week this week, with a short but adventure-packed visit from my best friend Darla Bailey and her 3 year old, Miller. I was lucky enough to take half a day off, and Quincy and I joined them for a great afternoon. We visited "Kids Quest" childrens museum in Bellevue. Initially I was very unsure as to how Quin would like it, thinking he might still be too little to really get much out of it. I knew it would be great fun for Millie, and give Darla and I a chance to do some catching up as well. Fortunately, both Millie and Quincy had a fantastic time and could have played all day had we let them. There were some neat water exhibits, music areas, a science section and a big semi cab that the kids could crawl around in... but the hit was a huge bird themed play area right in the center of the museum. It was great fun for us all, and I really look forward to taking Quincy back soon. The best part for me, NO CLEAN UP! All the blocks, puzzle pieces, legos, etc. all get picked up by the staff at the end of the night and I don't have to lift a finger. Pretty good, right? The two kids had a yummy dinner and took a bath together. I have never had to fight to get Quin out of the bath like I did that night. He was in absolute heaven having an older kid to play with in the bath. He has always loved older kids, and he just adored Millie. It was just about the cutest thing!

At one point while watching our children play, I just thought out loud about how odd it was to be sitting there with my best friend of several years watching our kids play togather. We aren't nannies... or babysitters. We are mothers, and sometimes both Dan and I look around and think to ourselves "When did all this happen?". After some consultation, apparently this feeling never really goes away.

First trip to the park

With such a nice string of weekends, the fun just keeps on coming!! This weekend we made a quick trip to the park here in our neighborhood. There was some initial trepidations on both the swing and the slide... but it didn't last long and within seconds our little "Evil Knievel" wanted more, higher, faster and all by himself. He seemed to like the slide the most. I was a protective mother bear who wanted to hold on to him all the way down, but Dan just set him up there and let him at it. He LOVED it and kept wanted to go again and again.