My Sweet Little Q

It has been one year with you today Miss Q.

One amazing, fleeting year to enjoy your beginnings in our world.

One year to enjoy those chubby little fingers getting into every cupboard

and your smile that finds its way upon your face before you even open your eyes for the day. 

Wonder has filled your eyes

and you have filled my heart.

I have peace knowing our family is complete with you in it.

From your head

to your toes

you are so loved

and completely adored by all of us in the Laird household.  Even bunny.

So it was with joy that we watched you blow out your candle this morning as we celebrated our wonderful year with you over cinnamon rolls.

And imagine my delight when amidst excited laughter as bubbles swirled around us this afternoon, you took step after step toward your brother then continued to step around the patio over and over.  I cried, I laughed and I snapped pictures like crazy.  What a gift to watch you walk for the first time on your first birthday.  Such fun!

Quincy,

What a year baby girl.  You are pure delight.  Even in the hardest times, when sickness had overtaken your body, you smiled.  The grace with which you endure amazes me.  I'm honored to be your mother and blessed to see your smile each day.  The smile when you wake up, the smile when you accomplish something, the smile when you get into something, the smile after a hug, and the smile when you feel sleepy.  All those smiles brighten my day and you light up my world.  Happy Birthday Quincy!  I love you.  

-Mama

Sitting Up = Cooler than Spitting Up

Quincy is working on a new trick.

Falling has proven sometimes fun and sometimes very frustrating.  But, she's already improved her technique since yesterday, when she suddenly stayed sitting after I let go.  I'm also quite sure there are teeth on the way.  She seems to be in a bit of a hurry!

Three Months

My little Quinni Mini has officially made it through "the fourth trimester."  That first three months are basically like a gestation period outside the womb.  Now, she's finally seeming like a real little person, which is really fun!  At three months Quincy weighs in at 12lbs10oz (60th percentile) and is 24.5" long (88th percentile).  This is a 6oz weight gain (though she dropped from the 87th to the 60th percentile) and a growth of one inch in length.  She's currently perfecting holding her head all the way up... those big cheeks have made it quite the effort!  She's standing up well and loves hanging out in the Johnny Jump Up. 

She's also loving her new play mat.  She'll lay there flapping her arms and legs around  and squealing at the hanging toys for long periods of time... which means I'm loving it too! 

The babbling has begun and I swear she's started saying HI. Several times now I've said "hi" then she looks right at me and says it back.  She's either brilliant or it's a coincidence.  I'm sure she's just a genius!  No rolling over or anything like that going on.  She's pretty content to sit and observe at this point.  Which, is a-okay by me!  She can take as long as she wants to mobilize!  She is trying to run up my stomach when I hold her now, which is kind of exhausting for me, but compared to Naomi, who was trying to run, jump, leap and do backflips when I held her, this is nothing!  For now she is just a happy little thing and is generally quite easy going, as long as her belly doesn't have a bubble giving her grief.  No complaints here... I think we'll keep her!


And just for fun, a little side-by-side line-up of the girls.  I didn't think they looked much a like, but I guess they sort of do!  In fact, Dustin had no idea who was who when I showed this to him.  He just looked really carefully for who had the extra cheeks!  He eventually got it right, but after much going back and forth.  haha

 

A Party in Pictures

Naomi had her birthday party today.  What can be said about a party for a two year old?  There were pools, bubbles, a sprinkler, music, food & drinks, cupcakes (of course), some really good friends, a few decorations and a lot of heat and fun!  I'll let the photos do the talking because I. am. beat!  (Sunshine and a good time will do that to you.  As will setting up a party with two excited little ones and a baby who is only happy held. Thank goodness there was lots of help cleaning up.  Thank you soooo much!)

She Made a Wish....

...we'll see if it comes true...

Happy Birthday TWO You!!!

For Naomi, it's been a LONG wait for her birthday to arrive!  To her, it's the day where we all sing "'Happy birthday to you' really, really loudly!"  She's all about the song and the party. Lawson can't stop talking about the presents!  And it's not even his birthday!  For me, it's kind of shocking that this day is already here.  That part never changes.  Birthday's are always here a little sooner than I'd like them to be. 

This birthday is a little different than we had planned.  There was a party set for tomorrow and I had visions of fun activities today as a family, but Quincy came down with the flu last night and Naomi woke up with a temperature of 102.  She's all kinds of fun today!  Lots of screaming and crying and yelling.  I keep hearing "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" in my head!  Lawson's not helping by doing all he can to pester her, but what are big brothers for if not to drive the women around them a little crazy?  So, it's a sick day today for a birthday and the party is postponed so we don't send vomiting, diarrhea and fevers home as party favors.

Sick day or not, it's all about my special girl.  She's got a smile that lights up the room and a gaze that melts my heart!

Naomi, you are my sweet, special girl.   You are talking so well I forget how small you are still sometimes.  And you say the funniest things every day that make us all laugh.  You're about as stubborn as they come, but I'm not complaining.  It will serve you well later in life and the headaches it may cause me here and there is equal to the laughter that it brings me.  You have a serious appetite, particularly for barbecue chicken, and love to "eat it in your tummy."  The arrival of your baby sister, Quincy, brought out your maternal side and cuddling Quincy became one of the more exciting parts of your days.  Playing with dolls and your toy kitchen occupies much of your time, as the dolly often needs feeding, cuddling and tucking in to bed.  But, your also known to play hours of trucks and trains with Lawson and FLY around the house on the go cart being chased by imaginary dinosaurs yelling, "the dinosaurs are coming!"  Shoes are one of your deepest loves and you can barely stand waiting to get pants on so you can put your shoes on your feet "all yourself!"  You surprise me with what you can do.  If you put your mind to it, you figure it out quickly!  I love you so much, Num Num.  Watching you grow and change and discover who you are is one of my greatest joys.  You truly are my sunshine!  Happy, happy birthday to you, Naomi.  May 2 be the best year yet!

Love,
Mom

Naomi, Say Hello to "Bob"...

I wish I had a great comparison photo, but I had to cut Naomi's hair immediately and only had time to grab the scissors.  Not the camera.  It took all of about 20 seconds to lop off the remainder of the rat tail she had grown.  I kept it around because it looked super cute all curled up when I put it in pigtails or a ponytail, which I do every single day.  But, my friend Ashley saw Naomi with her hair down the other day and mentioned a bob cut would suit her and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.  New baby, less time, easier hair cut, win-win.  Yes, the pigtails may be littler when we do them, but at least I don't have to do them every single day for her to look presentable!  After bath today, I was seized by a serious need to cut it NOW!  Why didn't I do this forever ago?  Much better.  Trust me!  What a difference those couple of inches were making!  Thanks for the outside perspective, Ashley!  I wonder how long I'd have let her mullet-looking hairdo go...  poor girl!  So here's the after.  For the before, just imagine about two extra inches in the middle of the back, looping around looking rat-ish. 

Lawson is also due for a cut, but he's not really interested in sitting still for that today.  He's busy being a train conductor being chased by a dinosaur as they both run around screaming, "The dinosaur is coming!  The dinosaur is coming!  Go away, dinosaur!!!"

He's also busy driving crashing his cars on the coffee table.  Perhaps when I bribe him with a lolipop (or as Lawson calls it, a "ladypop"), he'll let me spiff up his do as well!

Bringing Down the Wall

There's something missing in this picture.  Can you tell what it is?

One side.  One side that makes this bed a crib.  The crib has officially been converted into a big girl bed.

And that missing side is making this big girl very, very happy!

You see, she's been cooped up on the other side of the room staring at this big boy bed.

She's watched this big boy get up and down out of his bed at his leisure while she was stuck crying out for someone to remove her from her bed.  Not so cool when you really, really like to do things all by yourself!

Initially, I had my hang-ups about turning her crib into a bed. The size of my belly, coupled with my sore back and the number of times she was needing me to lay her back down each night quickly made it obvious that the time had come.  She took her last nap in the crib, then watched in wonder as I gave her some big girl freedom by way taking down one jail-like wall.  I was pretty nervous that I was going to regret my decision when I found myself chasing her back to bed over and over and over again that night.  After all, her brother used to spend an hour or more playing that game when he moved into his big boy bed.  Hey, he still does that.  I armed myself with lots of time and plenty of goodnight stories to make her extra sleepy that night.  We read all the stories, sang several songs and got all tucked into bed.  I stayed in her room as she fell asleep just to be sure she knew that everything was still the same.  She seemed a little cautious about the missing side and checked to see that I was still there every few minutes, but in 20 minutes or less, with *no* crying (a very welcome change from the half hour or more she's been doing the past month or so) she was out like a light.  And rather than waking me up to soothe her to sleep five or six times like she had been, I didn't hear from her. at all.  until I opened my eyes to see her pretty little face looking at me at six in the morning!!!   

THE GLORY!!!!!  

Now, two night times and two nap times later, I lay her down, walk out of the room and she falls asleep and stays asleep!  We couldn't be happier with the change around here.  The only thing that would make it better is if Lawson would follow suit and stay in his bed all night!  But, I'll take what I can get and being woken up several less times per night is bound to make a big difference for all of us! 

Yes, it seems that fourth wall was the holding the key to all of our night time happiness.  It's always a little bittersweet to watch the kids reach a milestone that make them more grown up and independent.  Mostly just sweet, luckily.  The sap in me gets a little choked up at the thought of never reaching over that crib wall to pick up my sweet little baby Num Num again.  But, mostly I'm just super excited that I never have to reach over that crib wall to pick up my sweet little baby Num Num.  Now, my feet never hit the ground and she comes to me for early morning snuggles!  Really, it's a much better deal!  And with her recent interest in the potty, I'm thinking this is a necessary step in her rapid progression toward potty training.  

And with that, I officially say goodbye to whatever was left of her babyhood.   

 

What a ONEderful World

I see babies cry.... I watch them grow.

They'll learn much more.... than I'll ever know.

And I think to myself...What a ONEderful world.

Miss Naomi,

One year ago tomorrow, we welcomed you into our family.  It was one of the very best days of my life.

Seeing you for the first time brought tears to your daddy's eyes and found me surprisingly calm.  I felt instantly "at home" with you.  Like you had been part of me all along.  

Your brother was so happy to finally be able to see his little Num Num!  

He'd been waiting for you for a really long time and was (mostly) happy to have you out of my belly!
 

The two of you took to each other really quickly and have been two peas in a pod ever since!
 

There was a lot for you to learn in this big, new world and it has been magical to watch you take it all in!
 

I couldn't take my eyes off of you.  Even when you were asleep.
 

There really wasn't much about you that we didn't all just absolutely love!!!!  

From your fluff
 

To your beautiful, long eyelashes.

And not to mention those gorgeous peepers!

We even loved your ten perfect little toes.

I may have even thought your little buns were sweet enough to photograph.

Yep!  From top to bottom, we think you are as cute as they come!

You are the happiness in my heart and the joy behind my smile.  

In the short time we've had with you so far, you've managed to wrap us all around your curious little fingers.

You have a courageous spirit

A crazy, fun sense of humor

An eye for fashion

And a bit of a flare for the dramatic

I see a endless world of possibilities for your future!  I also see lots of girls' nights and shopping trips for us.  Just a little excited about that!  I have been so blessed to be your mother.  There is never a dull moment when you are around!  Even when you scream and cry, I know there is a great big smile hiding right behind it!  And now it's a great big smile with six teeth and more to follow!  You are getting so big, learning new words each day and now you are up and walking around!  The world doesn't know what's coming now that you are mobile!  I fear that your brother doesn't either!  You are made of lots of sugar, but I think there may be a little more spice!  Either way, you are all kinds of nice!  I love you so much!

Yep, Num Num, you are one!  And I hope it is absolutely ONEderful!  Happy Birthday, my sweet, little Naomi!!!!!

Mama