Who said there's no such thing as too much fun?

This weekend was go, go , go for Quincy and I while Daddy stayed home with a honey-do list of things to hang, install, hammer, and glue. Quincy and I headed over the the "west side" again for a visit to Grammy and Grandpa's house for the weekend. We began with a dinner Friday night with my Aunt Barb. First thing Quincy insisted on when we pulled in the driveway Friday night was a jaunt to the swing in the backyard. Then, Grammy, Quincy and I headed over to Brooke's house so Quincy and Brooke's daughter, Presley, could have their first "official" play date. Okay, we really just wanted to tour Brooke's house! Then, it was off to the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium. Unfortunately, even being the most perfect day for the zoo possible, the zoo was no match for Quincy's allergies. Poor thing's eyes began to tear and she began to cough. She ended up pretty miserable so we didn't exactly get to see very much. We got her home and down for a nap just in time for a visit from Great Grandma Vargo, Uncle Danny, Uncle Bill & Aunt Linda! Quincy can't go anywhere without the paparrazzi finding her! ;) It ended up being a long day and we ended up with her at 1 am with a fever. Uh, oh, here we go again...

This morning, seeming better, Quincy went over to Grandma Wood's house for a while to catch up on some TLC from Grandma Wood. Not soon after though, her fever returned. I ended up spending almost four hours with her in the urgent care for fear it was another ear infection. She'll be staying home with Daddy tomorrow for some extra rest and love. The doctors think it's a bronchial infection *possibly*. She's had a blast this weekend, but all the fun has caught up. I think we'd better lay low this week and next weekend. And I'd better get to bed NOW just in case I end up watching Sesame St. at 2 am tonight with a sick kiddo. Enjoy the pics of the good moments!

I want to WIN a Picture Life Workshop!

A while back I discovered Holly, a mom/photographer, whom has been a huge inspiration to me in the past six months. She (and her blog) are a main reason I've chosen to learn how to take better pictures of my family and friends. The blog she keeps is so inspiring because she is able to document the lives of her children in beautiful, colorful photographs that capture the joy of each day. I want to do the same for my daughter. My husband and I bought a Canon EOS Rebel before my daughter was born so that we could have better photos of her, but I didn't really understand the camera, or want to, until I realized the potential from visiting Holly & Amanda's blogs. Since then, I've purchased the 50mm lens and have been trying to teach myself the ropes. My husband is getting a little sick of my constant attachment to the camera! While I've gotten lucky on some photos, I need serious help! I have been waiting for the workshop to re-open but am not sure we have the extra cash to spend so I would LOVE to win! Some background about me? I am a full-time mom and graphic designer and love to create things. I have been using a Mac for over 10 years and I'd be happy to give Holly some pointers! Life is full of beautiful moments. I just need someone (hm, hm, Holly & Amanda) to help me capture them. Thanks!

For those looking for inspiration, here are their blogs:
http://bloggingwithholly.blogspot.com/
http://www.amandaandrewsphotography.com/blog/
http://www.picturelifeworkshop.blogspot.com/

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Today we went over to my friend Aimee's house for their son's 3rd birthday. Quincy had so much fun. They had built him a house in the backyard with a rooftop patio and slide! He also got a very cool airplane teeter-totter for his birthday. Quincy loved the house. Here are some pictures of the two of them together. So cute! I always joke with her about being on her best behavior around him in case they get married some day! Looks like we may be building on an addition in the backyard.

Um, is she trying to hold his hand? Oh, great.

XOXOXOXO

Quincy wants to wish all her "fans" a VERY Happy Valentine's Day! Hugs & Kisses!




These were taken yesterday morning before school...it was crazy sock day at daycare!


Just messing around with the camera the other day at the park.

Quincy's Room

Ah, I have memories of painting the tree on the wall trying to keep my big belly out of the paint! That seems like only yesterday, but here we are almost two years later. I just thought I'd post some details from Quincy's nursery as it is now, before it's time to switch to a big girl bed and she starts hanging posters on the walls and keep out signs on the door! Everything in it is super-special because all the linens were made by Grammy, I painted the tree, Grandma Wood gave her the precious banner among many other things from other family and friends. It is so calming, yet colorful. I love her room.

A Slice of Life

There is not much interesting going on now, but I had a few things I wanted to make note of for Quincy before I forget them. Quincy's latest thing is "Shhhhh-shing" everyone. It is so cute. Any time someone closes their eyes, even if it's in a book, she "shhh-shes" them with her little finger held up against her lips. I have a feeling they tell her that in daycare all the time since she's the problem child when it comes to napping there! She also decided she loves the "mush" in her Goodnight Moon book. All of the sudden when we would get to the bowl full of mush page, she takes her little hand and scoops out some mush from the bowl on the page and puts it in her mouth saying "mmmm". She is crazy for oatmeal, so that shouldn't surprise me. She did the same sound while we had the tv on the other day as well. A commercial for burritos came on and she stood there watching it saying "mmmmm". A few commercials later, an ice cream commercial came on and again with the "mmm". So why doesn't she eat her real food so well?!

Let's see, some other things she's doing now... spinning around, trying to jump (without getting her feet off the ground), talking up a storm. New words pop out every day. Her daycare said she's been talking like crazy and climbing on the tables. She sure seems to get naughty reports from school a lot! Okay, I'm sure there's more, but I just had to record those things before I forgot and she moved on to new things. She is so much fun right now I wish time could just stand still. She's growing up way too fast already. Here are some photos from tonight, just for fun!

Grandma Wood never forgets a holiday. Quincy got her Valentine's Day card today with five whole bucks for her piggy bank! Here she's saying, "Thank you Grandma! I love you!"

Semi-pro

Okay, so the semi part is me and the pro part is the photographer who helped me! I went over to Jolie's house for a little photo lesson. She just completed a studio in her garage and it is awesome. I won't go into boring photography details, but let's just say I got lucky on some of these and well, I still have a lot of homework!








This one is not focused at all, but I still liked it. She has her favorite bed-time blankie (given to her from one of my bride's maids, Lisa Mercer).

Quincy on Parade

It was yet another BUSY weekend... for Quincy. I'm pretty much just her chauffeur. Daddy needed to dedicate his weekend to working on his jeep (aka: money pit), so Quincy and I headed out of town to the west side. My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Terry have been here all week from Nebraska and we had to see them at least once before they left. Of course, once the rest of the family knew Quincy was coming over, it ended up being another large family dinner. Saturday was a fun day just hanging out in the yard, enjoying the weather, which has suddenly become Quincy's favorite pastime. Her latest thing is the word "outside". Every five minutes, she grabs her jacket and hat if there is one around and chants "owwwside?" "owwwside?" "owwwside?" I suppose it's better than "TV?" "TV?" "TV?", right?

Then, today (Sunday) was another non-stop day. I actually got to sleep in until 8AM!!!! Grammy took baby duties this morning and I got to snooozzzze. Considering it's midnight right now, I guess all that sleep did wonders! Once I got up and Quincy ready, she went to spend the day with her Grandma Wood (her "girlfriend"). I tried to take a picture of them but the lighting indoors was too dim. I will have to try again soon. After a full day of shopping with my favorite girlfriend (my mom), I headed to Jolie's studio for a camera lesson and Quincy showed up later with my parents. Those photos are to follow... but first, here are some from our weekend!


She could care less about driving her jeep. Isn't the fun of driving talking on the phone??? Ummm, we'll have to do something about that!





Quincy and Gramps...



Great Uncle Bill is an old softie! Why do I have the feeling he sneaks her ice cream when I'm not looking?

Just some girl-talk with Grammy. Hmmm... looks like they're telling secrets. I'd better get to the bottom of that.


More pretzels??? Poor deprived child had never had pretzels before. Here she is signing for more. She couldn't chew fast enough.

TGIF (almost)

I am so looking forward to this weekend. One of my favorite Aunts is in town and I just love seeing her. She is my mom's sister and it is so fun to see them together. They get like little school girls and giggle, giggle, giggle... The only problem is that they both talk so much because they rarely have the chance. My Grandma and I usually sit there and roll our eyes because we can't get a word in. Then....

I am so excited! Sunday, the photographer who did our family photo session last summer has agreed to give me a few pointers. I get to go to her studio and she is going to teach me how the pros do it! I hope I make a good student :) Here are some of the photos she took of us last summer. I couldn't believe any of them turned out. It was so HOT and Quincy was past due on her nap. Amazing any turned out but she is good! (Jolie Ann Photography)

You win some, you lose some

Ahhh, what a disappointment! I had to be a football widow every Sunday for an ending like this? Where's the justice? Well, I guess getting to the Superbowl was an accomplish enough for me. No sense on dwelling on the negative. Here are some pictures from our weekend. Galen and Tessi came over this weekend to spend the night. We intended on going to the zoo but never quite made it. We found plenty to do anyhow. Galen only did two things while he was here. 1.) Play the gutiar and 2.) Sleep. He is a teenager after all. Tessi was a little more active. She was a huge help with Quincy as usual. We shopped, stopped at the park, made "puppy chow" and just had some girl talk.



I got this "tutu" at a garage sale a while ago and had been dying to take her picture in it. We brought bubbles to the park and the photos had so much potential but I somehow screwed up my settings and they all came out green. I recovered the colors as best I could but they still look off. We'll have to try again when the grass is greener anyway.

Tessi took this last one of me & Q. She is actually pretty good at taking pictures. Just don't pay attention to my inappropriate shirt. I must have been in a hurry to get out the door. Lesson learned: Look in the mirror at least once before leaving the house!

Tessi took these photos from the seat next to Q in the back. I really liked something about them. I love the one of her hands. She learned the sign for "more" at daycare and I just think it is the most precious thing. It's so cool for her to finally be able to communicate. I totally underestimated the power of sign language. I didn't teach her because I had heard mixed things about children who talk late because of signing. Regardless, it was a very cool moment when she was suddenly telling me something intentional. The other is just her typical goofy demeanor. I call it "See Food".

Here is the little photographer herself!


And here's her brother doing one of the two things he does best. I'll skip the photo of him sleeping!And, I can't leave out the boys. They were glued to the TV for six hours straight.


Lastly, Tessi took these next two photos as I was getting Q ready for bed. I just loved these photos as well because they are of those moments you never think to photograph. Every night, Q has her bear in hand. I love that kid. Thanks for taking such good pics Tess!