Playdate with E

Today, we caught up with E at an indoor playground! We haven't seen him since O was one day old!! The only photo I got of the boys together was them in their strollers--these two are pretty far apart in age (relatively speaking) so it didn't really work to get them together. In no time at all O will be part of the big-boy gang--thinking of that already makes me kinda sad--I am loving my sweet baby boy. I know I will still love him when he toddles, but he is so cuddly and sweet right now... ;-)

Here he is in front of a colorful train! Check out that full-on mohowk!

E was so proud of himself and was eager to pose for photos--I got lots of good ones of him today.
Isn't E precious???
Here they are "together"!

Playdate at the Acquarium

Today, we loaded up the boys and headed to the aquarium for some ooohs and aaahs! N. is old enough to enjoy looking at the animals, but we think he liked looking at all of the other people even more! J. and O. are both noticing contrast and beginning to see further distances each day (J. is three weeks older than O.). So, they seemed to like the black and white sting-ray looking thing and the trees the best! O. spent 90% of the trip awake taking in the surroundings. Now, he is napping--it was a big day for the little man. The following pictures are some of the highlights of the day! Thanks for playing photographer, Mom E., so that I can have some pictures of me and O.!!

O taking in the trees and sounds! This was the look on his precious face most of the day!

We stayed clear of this guy; he looked like he was ready for lunch!

Mom J. and I thought that the little ones would like to look at these guys since they are black and white. We think that both of them caught on as they seemed to track the fish as they swam by. In any event, we enjoyed watching them!



Mom E. and N. in front of the indoor waterfall!

I love the bright colors of the flamingo!

N. took this all in for a while! I like this picture of him with the turtles in the background!

Mom E., Mom J. and I met a lady here that was 9 months pregnant with her 5th kid! She had all of the kids with her by herself today! I asked what she would do if she went into labor and she said she would call 911 and ask them to bring a second driver to take her kids in their car--what a brave (read crazy! gal). We chatted with her a bit and all left thinking we were so overwhelmed with three moms and three babies--how on earth does she do THAT?!?!? She was really nice and we wish she lived near us as we could learn a lot from her!!!

We stood and watched the big cat pace around his cage for a bit! Doesn't he look scary in this one? N. took it all in like a man!!

What a fun day! I hope the boys enjoyed it as much as the moms!!!

Tobie Gets Some Attention! & O and N go to Target...

It's about time! Tobie finally got some lovin'! Last night I went to the Ladie's Night Out in the neighborhood and a neighbor and I arranged a playdate for the dogs! So Sarah came over with her 4 month old Great Dane, Ollie and her Pug, Steve. Ollie is slightly smaller than Tobie now, but will be over twice her size in no time! Steve is small in stature, but big in fun! They had a blast! Tobie was such a happy girl! It was almost 75 degrees out, so we sat outside for a couple of hours with them. When they left, Tobie cried at the window for about 5 minutes. We'll do it again, Good Girl!


O is sporting his too cute outfit he got from Jahna! Too bad he didn't want to wear the vest today--I think he needs to grow another inch or two so that it does scratch against his face. We'll try it again in a week (ha, ha--cause he grows like a weed it may fit then)!! Thanks for such cute clothes, Jahna!!
This afternoon, O and I went for a walk with Mr. N. Afterward, we headed to Target in one car--turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, but the boys sure were cute sitting side-by-side in their car seats!! I love that Mr. N. always looks at the camera when I am taking a picture. So sweet!
And look at this boy so content and sucking his thumb! Jahna, I spoke too soon. You can totally see his mohawk in this photo!

Who is that in the mirror??

Last weekend, after I awoke from a nap my family reported that O enjoyed looking at himself in the mirror on his activity mat. I had never seen him see himself..until yesterday! It looks like he is truly pondering what/who he sees--I hope he thinks he's as cute as I think he is!! And just look at those big eyes--where did he get those?!?

O Meets the Family (Part I)

Four Generations

This weekend, some of my mother's family came to town. O was the center of attention and enjoyed every last minute of it. He met his maternal Great Grandma (from TN), his Great-Aunt Dona (from TN), and his Great-Aunt Julie (from TX). We sure did enjoy the visit and are thankful that they traveled here to meet the little man. It was great to see everyone and we look forward to our next visit this summer--hard to beleive O will be six months old when you all see him again.

O's Great-Grandma G.

O's Great-Aunt Julie

O's Great-Aunt Dona

O's Paw-Paw Mac



The gang cooking dinner!

We cooked a yummy meal and enjoyed fabulous wine and cheese on Saturday night.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching O! He smiled, cooed, and got to know his crazy family! This week, O noticed our fan (it is over 20 feet high) and really started smiling and staring at it. These pictures are a series of fan-looking smiles. We all sat mesmeraized by his actions!

The next installment of O Meets the Family is forthcoming--his grandma from England is coming in 10 days! We are counting down the minutes to your arrival Grandma Q and Maureen!!!

O's First Church Service & Other Weekend Fun

Today, we took O to his first church service. We visited this church for the first time and we both liked it. O was an angel. He was awake most of the time, but was content to look at mom, dad, and the light fixtures. It felt to good to worship this morning and I feel so blessed to have the honour and gift of raising O. I thanked God for bringing him to us! What a great Sunday!

For New Year's, we held the first annual "Quinlan Family Goal Setting" meeting. We set Happiness, Health, and Wealth goals. One of the happiness goals was to have a family outing at least once/month. For most of our blog readers, this probably sounds funny. But, we work so much that we haven't really set aside time to do something recreational together (unless you count happy hours on Friday night ;-). Saturday, we took Tobie to the dog park and then we walked along the creek for 2 miles with O in the jogging stroller. It was so nice and exactly the sort of day I had in mind when we set the goal!

Here is a photo of O and Tobie--thought they were cute. I layed O down to look out the window--really, this guy LOVES light--and Tobie laid down with him. Please keep in mind that Tobie is part boxer and that is why you see her teeth. She isn't growling at him--I wouldn't let my sweet boy near her if she did--they are fast friends!

I finally caught the pout on camera--this isn't the best version of the pout, but I can't make myself pull out the camera when he is really upset! This was a fleeting pout that I was able to catch! I can't resist that face. Everytime I see it I want to do whatever it takes to make it all better...
The shirt O is wearing says "My 1st Convertible" and has a wagon with a dog in it (just in case you can't see it). Hard to say if this will really be his first converitble or if he'll ride in the Jeep with the top of first, but in any rate, the shirt is really cute! Thanks, Danny!

O is about to outgrow his 0 - 3 month clothes! So, if you gave O something for 3 - 6 months; it should appear on the blog soon ;-) Grandma, Jahna, Lanie, and the Janes--be on the lookout in the coming weeks!

O's First Official Play Date & Other Exciting News

O had his first official play date today! Needless to say, the play date was more for the moms than the boys as Mr. N is 6 months older than O, so they don't have much in common...yet! But, E and I posed the boys for a photo session to mark the occaision! Aren't they both just too stinkin' cute?

The boys ate lunch, N played and O watched and smiled at him, they napped, and then we strolled for a 3.5 mile walk! It was so beautiful out today! I had a great time! O is sound asleep now. I think it was successful! Thanks for letting us spend the day with you guys!

Now...drumroll, please! O is the proud new owner of two new activity mats! He loves the first one so much, that we (read "I and then told dad about it later") splurged and got him two more! I am sure that he is too excited to contain himself!

This one is a surf board for tummy time. It has colorful fish in an "acqurium"--really a plastic pillow I filled with water! I think he liked it. It was the longest he has spent doing tummy time (not counting naps where he is held) ever!

The other new one is a jungle that has lights and sound! He loves to look to lights, so this will be a big winner once we get some batteries! It also has dangling toys that O immediately started batting--whether that was on purpose or not, I don't know. But, he was a happy boy under there!

Can you tell from the photos that O started smiling this week? I got the first, full-on, 'every bit of my face is responding to you' smile on Monday! We were about to go to the movies and I was putting him in his car seat talking to him about his first chick flick, tickled his tummy, and the boy smiled at me! Melted my heart! Then, we went to go see "27 Dresses," which I LOVED. O slept, ate, and then stared, mesmorized at all of the lights on the screen! He did his "Ooooh" face and looked back and forth across the big screen to take it all in!

On Wednesday, O got his first kiss from a girl! My friend, Noemi, has a nine month old daughter, Sophia. We had a short visit with them. Sophie was so excited to meet O and planted a kiss on him! He responded with an ear-to-ear smile. I think we are in trouble! Here is an older picture of Sophia--she is 5 months in this one. But, you can see why he smiled so big--she is a cutie.

I miss you, Daddy

In your absence, I thought I would try to learn "God Save the Queen" so that I could suprise you when you get home! One kink, "Mummy" doesn't know the words! So...instead, I asked Mommy to put my Union Jack baby legs on me and then I practiced cheering so that I can be ready for the first football game we watch together! Here is a picture of me chanting "En..ga..lund" just the way Mommy says you do it!



This is the cute outfit I wore to go visit my Grandpa S today! We had fun--at least, they did--I slept through it!

O is One Month Old Today!

I can't beleive that our baby boy is already one month old. Time is flying by too fast! I hope you all have received the birth annoucement so that I don't ruin the suprise with this post! The "Newborn" scale photo is in the annoucement--I took that shortly after coming home from the hospital. I thought it would be neat to take a photo each month on the 4th to mark his change in weight, length, and development. You can already see how much more alert he is, that he stretches out his body more, and that he has gained weight and length in one month. By one year, I hope to have him standing on the scale (with someone helping, of course). It will be my project: "The Evolution of O" ;-) So...look for these on the 4th of each month!

Fun facts about O's first month--in one month, O:

* Gained 2 pounds and 15 ounces.

* Grew 2 1/2 inches longer.

* Has strenthened his neck and shoulder muscles significantly; he lifts his head up and holds it to look around for about 10 - 15 seconds.

* Loves to look at lights, especially the can lights in the kitchen, the lamp in his bedroom, and the sunlight streaming through the blinds in the family room. In fact, the other night was a "fussy night" and the only way to quiet him was to hold him and keep the lamp on my side of the bed on. When Dad turned it off, he screamed!

* Has a favorite toy! Of all of his toys, this elephant that was $2.99 at Target is his favorite. It is the one toy that calms him when he is unhappy, that he consistantly smiles at, and the first one that he really grabbed for.

* Smiles when I kiss the space under his chin!

* Has started looking at us directly in the face (instead of at the lamp nearest your face) when you talk to him. This only started this weekend. If he hears me talking, he will turn his head in my direction. I love this.
* Is recognizing his hands and beginning to use them to grab at things. He grabs his stuffed elephant by the trunk really well. And, one of the toys on the activity mat is very popular with him--he can open the shell to see the animal inside by punching at it. It seems purposeful to me.

* Begun making cooing noises. He looks like he really wants to say something when you talk to him. Sometimes, he gets so excited about whatever it is, that his arms and legs just dance and flail! I will try to teach him sign language later this year! I think he uses his hands so much now, that he will be a natural.

* Has grown little rolls. I love the ones on his thighs and arms! These rolls confirm to me that my little man is healthy and growing!

* Has completely captured our hearts! I can't beleive it is possible to love someone this much! I enjoy every moment with him, even the ones at 3 AM (once I am able to drag myself out of bed). It is a joy to watch him discover new things. He gets so mesmarized by the simplist things. I find it interesting to try to pinpoint what it is he sees and how he sees it--I never thought blinds were this interesting before O!!

As proof that I didn't make O spend his ENTIRE one-month birthday posing for photos, I have attached the infamous activity mat picture of the day! He got some fun in before his morning nap!

Hope you all have enjoyed O's first month almost as much as I have!

Busy Weekend

We had a very busy weekend! Grammie and Paw Paw Mc came to visit O! He is changing so much each day that in two weeks you can really see a difference in him!

The weather was gorgeous! It was over 70 degrees Farenheit out on Saturday, the neighbor's were flying their planes doing cool tricks, and there were hot air balloons in the air. Who could stay indoors?!? So, we strapped O into his Jeep (not as easy as one would think) and went for his first stroll.

He had his first restaurant experience this weekend! We took him to the local hamburger place -- he slept right through it!



And...he had his first Superbowl Party! O couldn't wear his Cowboy's outfit as he has already outgrown it--outgrew it before he ever wore it. Yes, this child has outgrown some of his 0 - 3 month outfits and he is only 4 weeks old! Wow! Anyway, O is shown below indicating one of his squares in the pool! He was hoping to start his college fund with his winnings; and, he came close to winning the 1st Quarter. But, it didn't happen for O; however, his Dad won the 2nd and 3rd Quarters--yeah!!!! Way to go Giants and Eli Manning! We enjoyed watching the "under-dog" come through. O, you won't remember this; but, it was a very exciting SuperBowl and you stayed awake for most of the game!