A Quick Hello!

Today is the first time in a long time that I can remember spending the whole day with Quinn. It was really nice! However, any time I'm not with her I need to be rockin' & rollin' on this event I've got on Saturday, so here are just a couple pictures from the day. Happy Almost Relays everyone!

Cousins!

One of the benefits of going to Minnesota is that Quinn gets to play with her cousins! (She's the one and only down in Kansas which makes her quite special.)

Quinn had a lot of fun this past weekend playing with her big cousin Alleyne. They enjoyed playing with Grandma Nan’s dollhouse and stroller, but what Quinn liked best was Grandma’s kiddie piano. (My girl’s got the music in her!) Alleyne was great at sharing toys with Quinn and showing her the ropes.

See that Syverson love?

Quinn was also excited to see her little cousin Zoe, but I did my darnedest to keep them away from each other since Zoe had a nasty cold. It's kind of tough to watch the hand-washing with six caretakers around and we learned today that our efforts weren't successful since poor little Quinn has had a runny nose and cough all day today. :( (We're just crossing our fingers it doesn't get as bad as Zoe's!) But sickness or not, Zoe is still a little cutie-pie and we were so excited to meet her!

It's going to be so fun to see these little girls all playing together in a few years! How fun for Quinn to have little cousin girls to play with!

Easter!

Quinn's first Easter was in Minnesota and believe it or not there wasn't snow on the ground! Woo hoo! Quinn had so much fun spending time with her Syverson side of the family and we finally got to meet Quinn's cousin Zoe!

Our good camera ran out of batteries (common theme for the weekend) so we didn't get a ton of perfect pictures, but hopefully enough "decent" ones.

Quinn didn't quite know what to think of her Easter basket, but she was excited to put everything in her mouth and even tried on her bunny ears for a minute (courtesy of Great-Grandma Connie).

We had an Easter egg hung in the afternoon. We tried putting her shoes on her first, but that didn't last too long.

She LOVED shaking her eggs she found!

Such a big girl standing and "hunting" for eggs!

Daddy helps make sure she doesn't eat the plastic eggs!

She was such a good girl all weekend (even in the car!) and made our Easter so special. Hopefully we'll have more pictures to share soon from Grandma Nan/Aunt Brooke! (And now we know not to forget the battery charger for the next trip!)

We hope you all had a happy Easter as well!

Walk this Way

Today's video comes courtesy of Miss Morgan. (When you're only with your child for less than 2 hours a day sometimes it's tough to get quality blog material yourself.) Quinn was walking up a storm today and luckily she got a bit of it on video.

She's still not full-fledged walking, but our little girl is making progress!

See that adorable navy skirt? That came from Morgan too! We heart her!

Quinnie Love

Quinn has a new thing where she tilts her head and smiles at you. It absolutely melts my heart.

It's generally not this extreme of a head-tilt, but you get the idea. Also please no judgement on these hideous pajamas. It's tough to find cute ones after 12 months. Sigh.

Quinn & Will Sitting in a Tree...

Last night was pizza night with the Bemis family and we had a ton of fun! Josie (almost 4!) is always saying the absolute cutest things and the boys (20 months) have gotten so vocal. Those Bemis Boys also have an eye for "Baby Quinn", especially that William James!

The two were holding hands while Quinn was eating in the highchair (which was really cute until Quinn's arm would get stuck and she would scream) and when asked to raise their hand if they loved Baby Quinn, Will quickly raised his arm and said loud and clear "I DO!" Will also kept angling for a kiss. He got one or two, but when Quinn refused he yelled "come on!" just like a little Italian guy. (For the record, those Bemis Boys are Irish.)

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the evening's fun, but I won't be surprised if this photo is used in a save-the-date someday!

Thanks Bemis family for a fun night!!

Friday Playday

It might be rainy and dreary outside, but it's all fun inside for the Syversons today! It's a double-playdate Friday, woo hoo!

This afternoon Miss Elsa Louise came over to play and Quinn couldn't have been more excited. She was ALL squeals when Elsa got here. I think she was so excited to see a little girl her size (no matter that Elsa is 4 months older and Miss E. is still tall for her own age!). Quinn showed her enthusiasm for Elsa by pulling and grabbing at her constantly. (It's how she shows her love.)

And leave it to a good skee-ball machine to occupy both girls. Quinn was keeping me mighty busy (as was chatting with Elsa's mom, Shelly) so I didn't get too many shots, but here are a few of the girls saddled up to the skee balls together. The bestest of friends!

I think Elsa's saying "Mom, I've had enough of this crazy little girl. Can we go home now?"

Now hopefully Quinn will take a good nap so we can have fun with the Bemis crew tonight. Hooray for fun Fridays!

10 months old!

Boy oh boy! Quinn Marie is ten months, old which means she's only 2 months from being a whole year! And the good thing about that year mark is that these bunny pictures will come to an end. They're certainly getting tough! Quinn's great at sitting still... when she wants to. Sit her next to that bunny though and she's ready to GO!

Need proof? Check out the "out-takes" from this month's photoshoot.

I'd say that pretty much sums up Quinn at this month in her life. She's full of personality and is always on the move. She loves reading her peek-a-boo books (or playing peek-a-boo with us) and Mildred is still her favorite playmate. She pretty much grabs everything she can find and then swiftly puts it in her mouth. She's recently mastered the art of removing my earrings too.

She's really starting to understand what we're saying and her "words" are more strategically placed as well versus just babble. Quinn certainly keeps us on our toes these days, but she keeps us constantly smiling as well. We love you little Quinn Marie!

No, No, No: Part Two

It started with shaking her head no. Now she's saying it. And it's no surprise given that this is probably the word she hears most these days.

Happy Monday!

Here's a fun photo in case you've had a "case of the Mondays" today!

A Beautiful Weekend!

It was a lovely weekend in the Syverson household. The weather was gorgeous, but more importantly, Grandma Nan and Grandpa Gary were here! Quinn hadn't seen Grandma & Grandpa since January so she was very excited to spend quality time with them. She got to show off her walking skills as well as all the crazy noises she's been making. (But she was very stubborn and didn't say "dada" until right after they left!) We had fun grilling out, strolling around the East Village and taking walks in our neighborhood.

Here she is after one of our walks. She fell asleep in less than two blocks! (And I woke her up trying to get a pic. Oops!)

Grandma & Grandpa do such a good job taking care of her. She makes it tough to get those shoes on, but Thumper got it!

Our happy girl!

She can't wait for even more fun when we see the whole Syverson fam in two weeks for Easter!

Daycare Day!

Well for those of you who don't know, Quinn Marie is going to be starting full-time daycare soon. Our wonderful Morgan is going back to be on the leadership team at her church camp in Texas, which prompted us to think of what is the next step in Quinn's daytime care. This business of mine is going to have me quite busy over the next several months and we think she's ready for some kiddo interaction, so we decided full time daycare is the route for us to go right now.

We found a wonderful place just a few minutes away. (They even have cameras so we can check her out while she's playing!) We're doing a few "playdates" to get her accustomed to things before she officially starts at the end of May.

One big thing about daycare? She has to wear shoes. And actually keep them on! So we got her a pair of big girl walking shoes for school. (Her first school shoes! Awe!) She had a ton of fun on her playdate and even kept her shoes on the entire time. Here she is showing off once we were back at home.

We're excited for this next step for Quinn and think the timing is just perfect. The big day is May 23, so until then we'll be practicing walking, eating more foods on her own and enjoying as much time with Morgan as possible!

No, No, No!

I've mentioned before that Quinn can shake her head "no" but we've yet to get it on video for you. Last night she was being really silly during dinner time so I whipped out the phone to get a little snippet for you.

She might be refusing to say our names, but at least she's got her sports teams straight! I just love that girl!

Steps

You know that saying "hit the ground running"? Well I guess that's not exactly the case when it comes to babies learning how to walk. Each day we've had a few steps here and there. This evening she walked 5 steps, then 4, so we thought it was time to try and get this action on video for you. Luckily starting and stopping our camera is very easy because it took several takes.

First we realized her pajamas were hindering her (they're a little big in the feet), so we stripped her down to her onesie in hopes of showing her skillz to you all tonight. Then she wouldn't let go of those darn PJs, so then they still got in her way! We also used Mildred's nasty bear as a bribe to get her to move. We are amazing parents.

She's still a little shaky, but she's getting there. And heck, at only 9 1/2 months, she's freakin' awesome! So without further ado, here is Miss Quinn Marie "walking."

A Weekend of Firsts!

It was a big weekend for Quinn Marie. The biggest news is that she WALKED! Quinn took six steps for Morgan on Thursday (that's March for those of you watching the polls). We didn't get to see the action til Saturday, but then she took about 3 - 4 steps a few times for each of us. So fun!

On Friday night she had her very first sleepover with a friend. Mom & Dad went to ChildServe's Bubble Ball so Quinn stayed with our fabulous friends Ryan & Ashley and their adorable daughter. She had so much fun playing with little Annabel (now 4 months old) and we're so grateful to our friends for watching Quinn for us!

We were also very lucky to have great weather this weekend, so we went on two family walks. This was the first time Quinn sat in her stroller facing forward rather than in her baby seat! And because she's getting to be such a big girl, we also bought her a new carseat!

And the last "first" of the weekend is she has a new sound. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but it is in the video below and makes me laugh every time.

We don't have a video of her walking yet, but here are some shots of her from today.

When I got the camera out, she smiled immediately for the above pic. Clearly she's used to the camera! Then she was such a good poser with her daddy!

It was 86 degrees today so we changed outfits into one of her cute summer dresses from GG. She just LOVES reading her baby peek-a-boo books!

Look at her standing like a big girl!

And lastly, here's the video of Quinn and her new noises. I think it sounds a little like she's saying "Jay, Jay, Jay!"