Our First Trip to the Beach...this year

We made our first trip to the beach in 2010 on Wednesday/Thursday. We being Quinn and I. My mother-in-law was there staying at a relative's condo, so we decided to go over and hang out for a little while. I'm really glad we did. I guess I have what you would call a bona fide beach baby. He LOVED it. He would have stayed at the beach all day if he had the chance. He mostly wanted to sit in the surf and let the water crash all around him. Ok, it wasn't really a crash, but you catch my drift.

And to all my non-Florida readers, the beaches of the west coast of Florida are beautiful and oil-free (at least for now). I'm truly praying they stay that way. Come and visit!!
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Enjoying feeling the water on his feet and the sand between his toes.

Enjoying some cool water on a very hot day.


It must be nice to have your own personal umbrella holder. How very P Diddy of him.


He could sit there like this for hours. No joke.

We went out for a short walk and Quinn ended up staying out so long, we got to see this. It was definitely worth it.

Enjoying some Superman ice cream after a tough day of being a beach bum.

Our Engagement Story

Today over at Kelly's Korner its another Show Us Your Life Friday. Today's theme is engagement stories, so I thought I'd write that up...if I can remember that far back. Ok just kidding.

Ross and I started dating in August of 2001 and we knew pretty early on we would get married someday. When was the question. So flash forward to February 2004 and I was kind of wondering when it was coming. But I kind of put it out of mind and went on my merry way (haha, merry, get it).

So one Sunday (February 8 to be exact) we went to church and went out to lunch and kind of got in an argument. It was eventually resolved and later that afternoon we decided to go for a walk. I should have thought that was weird, as it was kind of chilly out and Ross doesn't do chilly. We walked from his parents house to his old elementary school about 1/2 block away. For some reason the gates were open and we were able to walk onto the playground.

Once on that playground, we noticed there was a map on the ground. I love maps, which of course Ross knows. So we went and stood on the map and Ross told me to stand on my favorite state. I stood on Illinois. Ross took off the ring I wore on the middle finger of my left hand and put it on Illinois. Then he told me to stand on my 2nd favorite state and I stood on Florida. Then he said all these nice things that of course I don't remember and he put the ring on my finger. I said yes, then he got on one knee and did it again. It was all very surprising and great and very Ross.

I was more surprised to know he had had the ring since I think September of 2003. He had had the money at that time and so he bought it. I love it because he designed it himself and put a lot of thought and love into it. I still love wearing it.

I had to go do a work thing that night, but got out early and we went to one of cousins houses where a bunch of people were getting together. Everyone was excited and it was just so great to enjoy it with other people. Than we went out to dinner at Steak n Shake. The perfect end to a great day!

Reasons I Love my Toddler

Toddlers tend to get a bad rap in our society, and often for very good reasons. I might have to post on that myself in the future. I could list many reasons that happened in the last 4 hours. But in my quest to stay positive, I thought I'd write a post about just a few of the many reasons I love my toddler, all 2 years 3 months 3 weeks of him.


1. He loves music and he loves to dance!
Quinn has loved music since he was a baby, but it has really been coming out lately. He can identify quite a few instruments by sight (piano, guitar, violin, cello, drums) and is able to pick out some instruments in certain songs, usually guitars and drums. Ross and I are very happy about that, since we both grew up playing and enjoying music. I hope this means he has some sort of future in music.

Quinn also likes to move to the music. He has been a dancer since he could stand and he can really get into it. The picture below was taken last week during a trip to Epcot. We were listening to a band playing in the Canada pavilion and Quinn was really boogying down. So much so he got a shout out from the band and had several people take his picture! So maybe he'll be a famous musician/dancer.


2. He knows how to have fun!

Quinn definitely knows how to have a good time. And he is usually pretty good at keeping himself entertained. We have frequented a local establishment called Kidz Club and Quinn has a great time there. He spends the whole time running from toy to toy and structure to structure. He particularly loves the little "roller coaster" they have. He can now do it all himself, so he is good to go, no waiting on momma!

3. He's a great helper!

Lately Quinn has been happy and excited to help me when I ask. He often responds with an emphatic "Yay Mama!" That is so nice to hear, and I'm enjoying it while it lasts, as I doubt it will be for long. Just today he let me put one of the recycling bins in his wagon and he pulled it all the way down our weird, long driveway to where it gets picked up. And then when the recycling had been picked up, we loaded the empty bins into his wagon and he happily pulled them back up to the garage. He had a smile on his face the whole way. I love that kid!

As you can see in the picture below, he loves to pretend to vacuum. Now when I actually start the vacuum cleaner, he is both fascinated and freaked out by it. He runs and hides, but then peeks out at it whenever it gets close.


4. He takes time to stop and smell the "roses".

Having a toddler reminds me to look around and get excited about the little things in life. Or even to just appreciate them. The littlest things give Quinn the biggest thrill, and that in turn gives me a thrill. You would think a school bus was the most awesome thing ever!

The picture below is of Quinn as we were leaving the Brunchery last week. He stops and sniffs those flowers every week, and it reminds me to do the same.




5. He loves adventure!

Not only does Quinn love to have a good time, but he loves to stay energized and he makes everything an adventure. Its so fun to see his little creative mind at work. He often just starts running and will yell out "I run" in an almost Forrest Gump like exclamation, and he is off on another adventure. He keeps himself busy, that's for sure.



6. He's just so stinkin' cute!

What more can I say, its the truth!

Swim Lesson

Today was Quinn's very first swim lesson. It was originally scheduled for Monday, but was cancelled due to the holiday (but unfortunately my number was wrong in the Y's system and I did not get the call. At least we got there on time). Quinn was very excited to get in the water and he did a great job the entire lesson. We sang songs, worked on kicking and blowing bubbles, and jumped off the side. He didn't do as well with the jumping, but I eventually got him to "jump" in from a sitting position without holding onto my fingers. He had a great time and didn't want to leave. Lucky for us there wasn't a class after ours, so we were able to stay for a bit and swim some more.

We have swim lessons 2 times a week for the month of June, and even though they are at 8:30 in the morning, I won't mind going as long as he is enjoying them.

A Picture

Ok, I'm finally figuring out the whole new camera/computer thing, so here is a recent picture of Quinn in his new wagon. He loves to go for rides and even likes to pull the wagon himself pretty often.

Now once I can figure out how to upload these pictures in order and not have to shrink them to move them around the post, I will add more pictures. Until then, enjoy the wagon!

Updates are coming!

It has been a somewhat action packed few weeks, so here is a quick update. We celebrated my birthday and Mother's Day, went to Disney a few times, I went to the beach for a weekend, and Quinn is being well, Quinn. But the best news of all...I got a new camera! So hopefully I'll finally be able to add pictures again. I just have to figure out how the new camera jibes with our "lovely" operating system. I can't upload the photo suite that came with the camera, but hopefully I'll at least be able to store them. Wish me luck!

Show Us Your Life - Kid's Names

I know I haven't updated in a while, but not having a working camera makes updating less fun. But it is Show Us Your Life Friday at Kelly's blog it is Show Us Your Life Friday and the topic today is Kid's Names. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Quinn did not have a name for 2 days in the hospital. Ross never wanted to talk about names during my pregnancy, although I had several picked out in my head. Actually, on Valentine's Day he said he wanted to discuss them, but by that point, I was ok with him not having a name until he was born.

We had kind of discussed the fact that his first name was going to be Donald. Its Ross' first name and his dad's first name. We also knew that he wouldn't go by Donald. Let's be honest, its not the coolest name ever. So what we were really deciding on was his middle name. We were down to 2 contenders in the hospital, and we talked and looked at him and polled various staffers and family members. But then we just decided on Quinn. It was actually the name I had in my head all along. I like that he has an odd letter for an initial, Ross and his dad have the same initials and it is super annoying. And I for sure won't be having kids with the same initial as there are no other Q names I like.

There are a few reasons I liked Quinn - I always liked Irish names, it is distinctive but not overly weird, and the whole Q thing I mentioned about. And hey, his initials are DQ, so maybe that will entitle him to some free ice cream some day. Can't beat that!

As for other names, well, I have some in mind, but would rather not share. I guess I'll just keep you posted!