Yuletide Ya'll

Booked flights and flew ourselves down to Oklahoma for Christmas this year. We had a crazy good time, but like all trips, it does feel good to come back to your own cozy bed and familiar ways.

Joe's parent's and my parents live 5 miles from each other, so divvying (weird looking, but yes, that's spelled correctly. Google said so.) the time spent between the two families can get a bit tricky. A blessing and an obstacle all rolled into one massive holiday heap.

Quinn was aaaaawesome on her very first flight. She slept through the entire flight on our way there, took a nap and charmed the flight attendants on the way back. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. *high five Quinn*

We got our enchilada, burrito, taco fix. Our southern twang fix.

Came home to a little over a foot of snow.

A video for your holiday entertainment. : )

Quinn and Kia met and played for the first time. It was fantastical. : )

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Merry Christmas!

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9 Months

Apologies for the delay in posting! Quinn actually turned 9 months yesterday, but a weekend trip to Philly for the Army/Navy game and 2 concerts down in NYC may be somewhat of a culprit. So. Tired.

Q has also come down with her first cold. : ( As of now we're hangin' in there with just a stuffy nose, and hopefully that's as bad as it'll get. Luckily, a pretty easy week at work should allow for plenty of snuggled recovery.

She's had a handful of amazing face plants in grand attempts to crawl, and is at the moment not quite in full crawl mode. But sit her next to an ottoman, and she'll pull herself up and toddle all the way around it.

Insistent on feeding herself. The purees are slowly diminishing and finger foods are now beginning to rule the roost. Although, give her a spoonful of yogurt and she'll let you feed her that stuff until she pops.

Quinn spent her first night at a hotel this past weekend and absolutely loved the full length mirror that was the door to the closet. She stood, cackled, and patted the mirror, for. ever. And next week, she'll be taking her very first plane ride to Oklahoma for the holidays. We'll see how that one pans out...

With a little extra time now in the evenings, I've whipped out the ol' knitting needles and am in the process of making THIS. We'll see how many....days....weeks.....ok, months pass before it actually comes to fruition.

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Salvation Army Audition

Quinn's no fool. She sees them. Those awesome people ringing their bells in front of various stores around town. A request was made by Q, for a video of herself ringing a bell so she could send it in to Salvation Army in hopes of a spectacular bell ringing career. She even gets a bit flustered when she drops the bell and has to put herself in face-planting danger to retrieve. Definitely aiming high this little one.

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Got ourselves one of theeeeeese yesterday. Nothing fancy, just the base model. Anything after driving the Mazda....since high school, is an amazing upgrade. Power locks! I've got power. locks.

Quinn took it out for a spin after her morning nap, she approves. : )

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EIGHT. months.

You keep face planting in a mighty attempt to crawl.
You'll stand without assistance for a few seconds at a time.
You had your first taste of animal protein, (turkey!) today, and like all other foods, you like it!
You're a pro with the sippy cup, when we help. You otherwise thrash and squeal in delight.
You love to clap your hands, and may be mastering waving to people.....or just flapping your arms and hands like a looney.
You love to say "baah bah baaah bah baah"
Your favorite books are your animal picture book and Goodnight Moon.
You like to eat my cornet.
You dressed up like a witch for Halloween.
You're incredibly happy.
You're working on your 6th tooth.
You went to town when we let you feed yourself a banana.
You smile a toothy crooked grin when super happy.

You're growing. Too fast.

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Sippy Cup Delights

Footage from today's lunch hour.

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Mmmmmmm......crisp.

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7 Months

Ohhhhhhhmygoodness. Time flies. Make it stop. Please?

Quinn's awesome. We love her so much we want to squeeze her 'til her little eyes bulge out like some cartoon character. It's disgusting how much we love her. Holy cow we love her.

She has sprouted 2 little nubby teeth on the bottom and is now sprouting 2 teeth on top. This teething thing has graciously brought Quinn bouts of rashes on her bum (who ever knew "teething poo" could burn a poor bebeh's tush?!), constipation, and the inevitable sore gums. The little lady is a trooper though, always giving us giggles and smiles.

Quinn luuuurvs any sort of veggie. We've gone through sweet potatoes, avocado, butternut squash, peas, broccoli, and carrots with looks of "more, more!". Fruits are a bit more hit or miss. She's growing fonder of bananas, apples, peaches and pears. Going to try apricots and blueberries here in a couple days.

She loves to swing.
Loves to stand up.
Loves to shake noisy things.
Loves to squeal.
Loves to push the keys on my laptop.
Loves to pat books.
Loves to be outside.
Loves to play peek-a-boo.

Is learning to clap!

Will pull herself up to stand if you put your hands in front of her to grab.

This girl is amazing.

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A drizzly, chilly, cuddly, homemade cinnamon roll kind of day.

-Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls-

Ingredients:

For The Dough:

¾ cup Cottage Cheese (I use fat free, they turn out great.)
⅓ cup 1/2 mixture of plain yogurt, 1/2 mixture milk
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) Unsalted Butter, melted
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
9 oz. (2 cups) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour; More For Rolling
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Table Salt
¼ tsp. Baking Soda

For The Filling:

¾ oz. (1-½ Tbs.) Unsalted Butter, melted
⅔ cup Packed Light Or Dark Brown Sugar
1-½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp. Ground Allspice
¼ tsp. Ground Cloves
1 cup (4 oz.) Chopped Pecans

For The Glaze:

2-½ oz. (scant ⅔ cup) Confectioners' Sugar
2 To 3 Tbs. Cold Whole Or Low-Fat Milk
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Make the dough:

In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, yogurt/milk concoction, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (don’t overprocess). The dough will be soft and moist.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12x15-inch rectangle.

Make the filling:

Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a ½-inch border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the nuts over the sugar mixture.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.

Delicious.







I ate SIX of these today...

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6 Months

TOOTH!

She has started to sprout her lower left tooth. We noticed it last Wednesday when we couldn't find a pacifier, so Joe stuck his finger in Q's mouth to let her chew. Little ridged chomper struck gold on ol' daddy's finger.

Started solids yesterday with amusing results and can't wait to feed her more grub.

Not sure how much she's weighing these days, but we'll get to find out on Wednesday when we go in for her 6 month party at the doc's office.

Definitely interested in grabbing anything around her and sticking straight into her mouth.

Loves laying outside on a blanket in the backyard, then sitting up to pull up grass.

Has started interacting and playing with our sitter's little lady, Karli. Karli (12 months) and Quinn were sitting on the couch together one afternoon, and apparently, Karli reached out to hold Quinn's hand. Freakishly adorable.

We're starting to ponder Halloween costume ideas...... So. Many. To choose from.

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Mush

Q had her first go at consuming something "solid" today. Steamed apples, baby. She kept making pretty hilarious faces of disgust, but would keep reaching for the spoon, wanting more. Crazy girl. (more pictures of disgust within the Flickr link to the left) : )

Gonna be baking some sweet potatoes and pears later today. Let the games begin!

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Wow. I'm hilarious!

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5 Months

Well....she actually turned 5 months yesterday....but we had visitors in from Italy, so getting to hang with them gladly took front seat for the day. : )

She's sitting up, putting everything in her mouth, jib jabbin' like a mo' fo', giggling up a storm (especially yesterday with her new best friend Katarina, some how, cart wheels were hilaaaaarious), and of course growing like crazy.

She starts eating mush next month!

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Embracing her inner gorilla.

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Deeelicious Treatings

Today's weather was perrrrrfect. Perfect I tell you. The air was crisp, humidity was low, and mother nature didn't let the temperature rise above 81. SO, we cruised over to Beacon this afternoon to walk around town, and....yes.....food ourselves. Went to a Thai place for lunch, it was ooookay, then dropped in to an ice cream/popcicle shop I have been yearning to go to. Zora Dora's my friends, may be the newest addiction Joe and I may have to overcome. Pineapple Chili Sea Salt, Yellow Plum Mango Ginger, Chocolate Bananarama, Coconut Lime, Cucumber Mint Chili....the list goes on and on. They had about 30 different flavors of deliciousnesses to choose from. Joe carried out his Thai lunch and got a Thai Iced Tea popcicle, and I opted for the Chocolate Framboise Truffle popcicle. Soooo goooood.

Joe and I both have Tuesday off.

We're going back.

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Vacay, Week 1

Got to spend the past week out at Round Pond, camping with friends and all of our bebes. Our days were filled with hikes and walks, dips at the pond, porch sitting, and all around relaxing, topping it off each evening with a campfire, s'mores and delightful adult chattings. Can't wait to go back. : )

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4 Months

Her mid arm and thigh rolls don't lie, Quinn clocked in at 13 lbs 10oz at her 4 month check-up at the doc's the other day, allllmost doubling her birth weight. She is currently a Droolasaurus Rex, chewing toys, hands, towels, and leaving behind a trusty gloop of drool.

Our favorite daily moment occurs first thing in the morning. Quinn usually wakes up around 6:30-7:00, coo's and ahhh's at her hands/mobile/crib railing for a good 10-15 minutes, at which either Joe or I will go and say good morning to her. The instant Q sees us, she recognizes who is standing there, her eyes light up with the biggest "I know YOU!" and the biggest smile graces her face. Ahhhh, melts me every time. These kinds of reactions from Quinn are soooo addictive. A drug. You want more, and you don't care what it takes.

We went to the pool for the first time the other week, and then to West Point's Delafield Pond yesterday. Quinn. Loves. Water. She was gabbin' up a storm the whole time we had her in the water with us. Smiling, cackling, watching people go by. Next week marks the first week of our two week summer vacay. Many a visits to the pond are for certain.

Hope everyone's summer is not as hot as it's been up here. *eeeesh

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We're getting a new roof! Q's overseeing the project and so far she approves. We'll be finishing out the attic and converting it to Joe and I's music/office area. This means, the extra space in our living room will become a play haven for the Quinnster. Yay!

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Fat Day

We decided to stay true to America and hop on board her ever so popular trend, and gloriously ate our way through this wonderful Independence Day. Our little village of Cornwall puts on a picturesque celebration for its residents, hosting local bands for ear-plugging entertainment, pony rides for the wee ones, pie eating contests for the pudgy ones, a parade complete with tractor pulls and local pets, and food...food you can only get at events like these.

Joe and I downed some jerk chicken, complete with red beans & rice and cabbage from a Jamaican stand, then slobbered a chili burger, refreshed with some water and iced tea, then went for the kill and split a funnel cake. I must admit, we didn't completely fulfill our Red White and Blue face stuffing glory...the funnel cake went unfinished. I know, sad, but we neglected to wear our elastic pants, and buttons were about to pop.

All in all, we had a pretty fantastic time. Especially toting the Quinnster around. She is definitely a lover of the outdoors, chit chatting and gabbin' away with all of the passers by.

Hope everyone had a great 4th. : )

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Shark Bait Ooh Ha Ha!

She's been doing it for a couple weeks, but we finally got it on tape. : )

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Bubbles and Drool

Little Lady is 3 months today! Our jib-jabbing wiggle monster is slowly diminishing her role as a real live bobble head and is getting pretty good at holding her melon up. She just started giving us her first cackles of laughter this past week, AND.... has recently graciously blessed us with the capability of sleeping through the night.

Her fingers and fists are now her favorite items to nom and chew. We sometimes even find her going to town on her thumb.

She'll stare at Joe and listen intently when he plays guitar for her. My favorite thing to watch. : )

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Friends Julie and Dave dropped in for the weekend to meet Quinn and do some hangin'....and eating. (Julie brought strawberries she hand picked from her CSA farm, which we topped with whipped cream for last night's desert. So goooood.) We had a grand ol' time, especially playing 2 new games they introduced us to; Bananagram and Bohnanza. I love them. A lot. And will be going out to purchase Bananagram, tomorrow. : )

We perused the grounds of the Storm King Art Center and enjoyed the views, dotted with sculptures.

Good friends, good eats, good times.

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