Ixtapa....here we come!!!

The weather forecast for next week...high 101, 100% chance of sunshine!!! Yippee!

We need this vacation...guess who was at the doctor again today? You got it. Owen has ear infections again. Poor guy, if it isn't one thing, its another.

Here's to some fun in the sun!

Owen's Pros and Cons of Sick Days

There are some good things about sick days...

Mama letting me "man the remote"...and, I get to watch all of the Baby Einstein I want...and, mama holds me the whole time my show is on if I want her to.
Mama gets me new toys for hibernation....its a tradition now and I hope it sticks.

And, I get lots and lots of yummy, sugary Pedialyte and Gatordae (mama figured out that i don't like the red one, but I LOVE me some orange Gatorade)...

But, there are lots of bad parts of being sick:

• tummy aches are no fun at all...they make me cranky. And, when I am cranky, eventually mama gets cranky. Not sure which is worse....cranky mama or the tummy ache.
• i don't get to play outside. but, mama did let me walk up and down the sidewalk some yesterday afternoon and I said "hi and bye" to a few cars going by. And...the postman stopped and instroduced himself to me...that was cool.
• mama didn't give me any milk all day. she said the doc said "no". I really don't care what the doc says...this makes me so, so angry.
• i got so hungry for my normal snacks that I even said a new word for mama yesterday, "cracker". That did it...she gave me a few!! Now, i just need to learn to say "milk". I will work on "no tummy ache", too.

Anyway, that's all I got for now. Here's hoping I feel better soon!

Ick

Seriously, you would have thought I would have seen this coming and been able to keep my son from coming into contact with it, right? A virus that looks like the picture, above! Should have seen it from a mile away.

But, I didn't. So, we are sick again. Owen feels really icky some of the time and fine the rest of the time. Mama is having trouble with the diapers--really stinky poo is not easy on a pregnant lady.

So...we are home bound...again.

Rotavirus...get out of our house! Quick! We are supposed to leave for vacation on Saturday!!!

Baby Q2: It's A....

Boy? Girl? Yes! Baby Q2 is one of those!!! But, which one is still going to be a surprise!! BQ2 is happy and healthy in there! Gave a little wave to Big Brother, Owen! Fun times. Baby is measuring 3 days small and is breech right now--augh--I want this baby to be on its way to coming out SOONER, not later!!! {not too soon--but, a few days early--its JULY we are talking about here?!?!}

After going back-and-forth on whether to "find out" or not, we decided that we wanted to wait. There are two main reasons that I have for wanting to wait and Daddy Q thought they were more convincing than the reasons to find out--AND, he came up with something we could do to resolve one of my reasons to find out.

Reasons for Waiting (no offence to all of you who have a different way of going about this--this is just my personal feeling of what works for me--as 'they' say, "different strokes for different folks")...

1. It is a pet peeve of mine when expecting parents introduce me to their pregnant belly with a "This is ____". Another pet peeve...signing thank you notes from babies not yet born. Yet, I believe that if I knew the gender of my baby, I would very likely fall into this same behaviour.

2. Since Owen was born by C-Section, I believe that there is a pretty good chance BQ2 will be, too. Even though I want to do a VBAC, I am not convinced that my body will go into labor in time. If I have a C-Section AND I know the sex of the baby, then so much about BQ2's arrival is KNOWN...the birthday, the gender, the name... That's just not how I want the birth of my baby to be--I am more "old-school" than that.


My biggest reason for finding out was that I felt I needed something to help me feel more bonded/prepared for BQ2's arrival. Something to demonstrate the excitement that I do feel inside. So, Daddy Q suggested that we go ahead and move the rooms around the house the way I want them for when BQ2 is here. That way, I have the "nursery" set aside and thought of, Owen is in his "big boy" room, but with his "still-mama's-baby-boy" furniture, and I get to organize the new home office and design our new family fun/old-school gameroom in the room where the existing office is.

Besides, I have been reading about transitioning little 'uns to their big-boy beds and I started to get the feeling that even though we plan on making the transition months after BQ2 is here, moving Owen to a new room AND a new bed all at once would be overwhelming. So, we will move his nursery just like it is now into the room that he will have later. That way, he is used to that being "his room" and its one less change for later.

So....we are busy moving, moving, moving here, BQ2 is a happy little bun-in-the-oven that may be a boy or may be a girl, and all are happy in the Quinlan Household!!!

Owen's Vocab

My 13 month and 3 week update from BabyCenter about O's development had a section to ask you how many words your little un knows. I thought while I was taking inventory, I would share...

1. Mama - that's me
2. Dada - that's Daddy Q
3. Hi - His current favorite word/most used word
4. Bye - His current second-favorite/most used word--he will walk down the sidewalk after a car yelling "bye" louder and louder....i wish more people would respond back to him.
5. Uh-oh - Oh darn! Mom, something isn't right, will you fix it?
6. Bubba - used to refer to Bubba, Miss Mimi's dog, or {sadly} Tobie, our dog--he doesn't know Tobie's name {poor Tobie}
7. Was Dat? - what's that. Also used to say he wants something, I think.
8. Wow/Whoa/Oh - expression of delight
9. Ball - to refer to a ball or a balloon
10. Duck - he knows them in reality, in movies, in books, and in the bath....{now says the whole word}

not counted 'cause I don't know what he means, yet....Caca.. Might be car, but he uses it in other contexts, like when he sees a plane or wants something from the counter?!?! No...its not Spanish ;-)

So, my answer will be 5-10. Cause, he doesn't know more than 10, which is the last choice. Hmmm...I hope he is still considered GT!!!!

**Update** Once I submitted my response, I learned that 65% of boys his age {whose parents responded} know less than 5 words. He is with the 22% that know 5 - 10 words. Only 12% know more than 10. I don't think its GT worthy, but I am still a proud mama. Owen...we have to learn one more word this week, hun, to get you into that 12% ;-)

Showing Off

His new hat from Miss Mimi...

His new way of storing a piece of nutra-grain bar for later {don't freak out, that is strawberry filling on his temple--not an injury of any sort}...

his bathtime tricks {...with a touch of his irritable-ness at the end}...

Is Baby Q2 a Boy or Girl?

We could find out next Friday....

With Owen, we didn't find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We had multiple opportunities: the 20 week sonogram, the 4-D sonogram we had at 32 weeks, and the 3 - 5 sonograms we had at the tail end of the pregnancy when they were monitoring my amniotic fluid levels. Not once was I truly tempted to ask "is it a boy or a girl?". I was absolute in my resolve not to find out and to have that moment in the delivery when Daddy Q announced "Its a ____". In fact, I was neurotic about reminding each tech, multiple times, that we didn't want to know....so, please don't do anything that might give us a clue. Fun times.
Daddy Q was convinced Owen was a boy...I thought for sure we were having a girl. And, in the moment when he was born, it truly was worth the wait. It was an awesome moment. The best part was that Daddy Q asked a couple minutes later "it is a boy, right" just to confirm he had made the announcement correctly.

So, because I LOVED the not knowing with Owen so much, why am I not so strong in my resolve "not to find out" this time? I really don't know. Maybe its because I know I am not doing the nursery until after Q2 is here? {Because of that, I don't feel like I am doing much to get ready for the new little one.} Maybe its because I am not so focused on the pregnancy this time as last and I think knowing would help me better connect with Q2? {Owen takes up most of my focus--its only at night, when I feel Q2 flutter that I take a few moments to bond with this baby}. Maybe it is so I can resolve my "do I put bunk beds in O's big boy room so that he and his little brother (?) can share a room" dilemma? {Obviously, if Q2 is a girl, they won't share a room}. I don't know. But, I do know, that I am really, really tempted to ask the tech next Friday...

"Is Baby Q2 a boy or a girl?"

Happy Heart Day

Owen's GA Julie {GA = Great Aunt} came to hang out with him this weekend! She was in Dallas for work and made the trip over to see us yesterday afternoon! O is still working on getting over being sick, so GA Julie saw a slightly different mood of Owen. But, he was still fun a lot of the time! On Friday, we hung out at the park, which entailed O's usual ritual. We went to feed the ducks, but O seems to know that we usually play first. So, he headed over to the playground....we followed. O got some playtime in, then we fed the ducks {there were 2 seagulls yesterday--we fed them, too}, then played some more!

This morning, we hung out in Owen's playroom -- soon to be Owen & {insert Baby Q2's name here}'s playroom ;-)

O and GA Julie after a game of "I see you through the slats in this chair"--one of O's faves...
Getting a tickle in. O's laughter is the sweetest sound on earth.

GA Julie and O setting the record for the longest time spent on the bouncing zebra! Owen actually got closer to a successful climb onto the zebra today--still needed a little boost on into the saddle--but, the closest he has come so far! He is getting so big!!!

Owen took a long nap this morning/afternoon {mama took a longer one--thank you, Daddy Q} and then we played some more... Owen and I went to the park, but our 70+ degree weather left, and we were too cold. So, we returned to "Owen's Playroom".

This photo is fuzzy, but too funny not to share! He loves this ball popper {it was a b-day give from Parker--thanks, Parker!}. But, he has so many toys that use balls that are the same size, that sometimes the wrong ones get into the popper. You would think it wouldn't matter, 'cause they are the same size...but, that would be wrong. The other balls must weigh a little more, because they won't make it to the top of the popper. Owen gets puzzled when this happens.

What the heck?

He turned the popper over while the air was still running and shot all of the balls across the room. This is Owen doing the ball retrieval ;-)

The "Busy Ball Popper" sure does hold up to its name! Owen is a busy, busy, guy when he is playing with this crazy toy.

A New Friend Came to the House Today

Owen is feeling much better today. He still runs a temp if he isn't in the middle of a Motrin/Tylenol dose, but for the most part, he is much better. The drops make his ears numb and that helps a lot! Hopefully, he will be fever free through the night so that I can return to work tomorrow.

Today, while Owen was watching one of his favorite Baby Einstein videos, UPS knocked on our door. Tobie barked, Owen looked to the door and said "Whas dat?", and I spotted a box being placed on our doorstep. "Hmmmm....what had I ordered lately on the Internet?", I thought to myself. I ran through all orders placed within the last two weeks....the stroller replacement snack tray had already arrived, the replacement car seat had arrived the day before, the clothes on sale from Tea arrived last week....could it be the three shirts from Gymboree that I got using my 25% off coupon during the baby sale? No...the box looked too big.

So...all of us were curious. I went to the door and found a box from O's Great Grandma, G.G.!! Yay!!!! It was addressed to me and Owen. We opened it -- O is really good at opening now that he has been through Christmas and a Birthday. He got an awesome V-Day card!! "Wow", Owen said--by the way, that is one of his new words. And....he got a new friend. A Hug-o-saurus to be specific. He makes this cute little noise when you press his foot and then shakes. O immediately gave him a hug--friends at first sight!!! Thank you, G.G.!!!

And...I got a book that looks really incredible. Since I enjoyed the first selection of my G-ma's bookclub so much (They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky), she sent me their second selection. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario. It is about a little boy who traveled across Mexico to reunite with his mom in the US. Wow! I bet this one will be amazing, too! I will read it when we are in Mexico at the end of this month, if I don't get too excited and place it ahead of my own book club's current book.

Double Ear Infections

Ouch. Now we know why Owen hasn't been himself. He has had a fever over 102 for the last two days now. Today, our new {very awesome} Pedi diagnosed double ear infections and gave us some drops to help O's ears and teeth feel better so he can sleep again. This is his first-ever ear infection--thank goodness, 'cause it wipes the guy out. The doc thinks it is a secondary infection from the cold he has had for about 3 1/2 weeks now. Between that and his new teeth that are confirmed as coming in (this Pedi took a look for us), he isn't feeling great.

Poor guy. At least he should feel better soon!!

Still Not Himself

{February 8, 2008}

First, today is the one-year anniversary of N and O's first {not in the hospital when Owen was born} playdate! What a fun year it has been!! I am so blessed to have N and his mom in our lives on a very regular basis after losing touch with N's mom for many years. Thank you for all of the fun, laughter, and mobile minutes used over the last year!

Second, N is a sick little boy right now. He is having some not-fun stomach issues and just plain, old ick. His Pedi thinks he has the Roto(?) virus, but they aren't sure. I have heard from a couple other moms whose kids have that right now...ick.

{Baptism: April 2008}

Owen is still not acting like himself. This morning, he didn't make it in the church nursery for very long. During the sermon, I looked back toward the door and saw the care provider waving me down. O was so upset....really, really upset.

I calmed him and took him to church with me. He sat quiet for about 5 minutes and then starting saying "hi" to everyone with his multiple-sylebol version that always gets a smile. Next, he started throwing his arms forward like throwing an imaginary ball and saying "goooaaaal". So, we left. On the way out, lots of people trying to listen to the sermon got there own personal "bye" from our little guy.

I decided that we just couldn't leave church after 15 minutes, so we went into the ECA Sunday School class (for his age--they just didn't take him cause he was so unhappy today). I certainly didn't leave him there alone, but he did make it through the rest of the class. So, I felt at least we got some worship in at church today.

{N's first haircut - July 31, 2008}

At home, he is a mama's boy. All he wants is for me to hold him. Occasionally, he will go to Daddy Q, but really he wants mama right now. The three of us went to the grocery store after O's nap and he was fine. Then, at the park, he played a little bit, but mostly wanted to sit with me and look around.

After an evening nap, he woke up burning with fever. We couldn't find the thermometer (its a toy sometimes), so Daddy Q went to buy one. Once we took his temp, the fever was down from the Tylenol. So, not sure what the reading was, but he was hot, lethargic, and not wanting to eat or drink anything. Didn't even want me to move from the couch where we were sitting.

{N's Family Photoshoot: October 2008}

He has had a cold and cough for almost 4 weeks now. Based on today, I am going to call our new Pediatrician tomorrow and try to figure out how to help Owen feel more like himself...I miss having happy, smiling photos to share. I do hope he is just getting those big, one-year molars and that explains what's happening with him. I would hate for him to have bronchitis or to get croup again....augh.

{O's 1 year & N's 18 month photo shoot: December 2008}

I hope both of you boys feel better real soon so we can start playing again and get an updated picture of you two together!!!

What a Week

Owen has been so fussy and unhappy this week. He has had a cold for over 3 weeks now, and I suspect that he is getting lots of new, big, huge, painful teeth or something. 'Cause my happy little guy is so not happy for the most part.

It has been a rough week. O isn't able to sleep through the night (however, he did last night thanks to Elizabeth's tip to give him Motrin for the suspected teething, instead of Tylenol). Wow....what a difference. Last night was the first night in about ten that we haven't heard him crying in his sleep! Wednesday night, it got so bad, that I had Owen in bed with me for 2 hours or so. He would drift to sleep, it would last a couple of minutes, and then he would wake crying again. Poor guy.

His blanket, Baby Einstein, Motrin, and cuddling with mama are about the only things that make him feel better. Beware, even the blanket didn't work a few time and it got thrown back at me.... And, about 50% of the time mama doesn't help--I get hit in the face and a tantrum ensues. At least last night, when Owen and I hosted book club (he stayed with Mimi until 8, but then came home--Daddy Q was at a work function) he was in a great mood and ready to entertain. I guess 10 + women in the house are enough to make him smile through the pain ;-)

We did make it to Gymboree this week since O hasn't run a fever since last Saturday night. Owen is obsessed with balls. Seriously, they are like a security blanket for the little guy. At Gymboree there is a bucket of balls behind all of the equipment on the far side of the room next to the fire exit...that's where you find Owen as often as I let him toddle away from the activities he is supposed to be doing. He goes over and just takes the balls out of the bucket, one by one. Then, he comes across his favorite--a bright yellow one--and carries it around for a bit. Takes it back over to the bucket later, drops it in, and then works to get it back out. I decided to fill a toy basket with balls at home for him since he likes them so much at Gymboree.

Sometimes, when he does spend a moment doing something that the rest of the class is doing, a stray ball catches his eye. Those just have to be picked up and carried, rolled, kicked, or thrown.

When Owen is around, no matter how crummy he feels, you can count on there being no ball left un-played with. I read once that it is good for a kid to get attached to something....

So, that was our week. One very unhappy little guy makes for a very tired mama. Thank goodness Baby Q2 is treating me well right now! I am having to remind myself that I am pregnant as the only time I "feel" pregnant is when I brush my teeth--I hate gagging on the toothbrush, but it is a good reminder from Q2 that he/she is doing well in there!!!

Owen's Weekend

First, Melanie has posted the slide show from Owen's first b-day on her site! Hop on over there and check out our little one year old (there is a link to her blog on this one)! Great pics, Melanie! Fam & Friends, if you want a copy of any of the photos, let me know and I will get them to you!!!

Okay...so, here's what all we did this weekend.

Friday morning, Owen posed for me so that I could complete my 3rd assignment from the Photography Workshop book. Working with light, we were to use a technique from the book. Cause I thought it would be one of the easiest ones with a moving toddler, I chose indoor window light. Doesn't he look so darn sweet you could eat him up? Never mind this was a fleeting moment...he was eating a snack, looking out the window, pointing at things, and standing in the chair. He just happened to sit for a split second...

same photo in color.
Friday afternoon, we went and got the car washed (Owen loves going through the car wash), went to target, and went to our Pediatrician's office for what would be the last time. We saw "the backup" and she really ticked me off. Between scolding my "discipline" abilities, making me hold my screaming child like I was a human straight-jacket while I was asking her to let me give him a break...he would calm down...I know my kiddo, and then telling me he just has a "runny nose" and may not be himself..."be patient with him", I am DONE! So, we are in the market for a new doc...makes me sad, cause I really liked the main doc, but this back up one just won't work for me any more. Got a recommendation?

Later that night, after O was in bed, Grammie and Paw Paw Mc arrived! Yay!!!!!

Saturday, I got to pamper myself. I had my hair colored and cut for the first time since September--thanks Team Stroud for the gift cert to Lifetime---I used it this weekend for a new do!!!! Y'all rock!

Then, in between my cut and massage {see, I really got pampered}, we fed the ccckkkkss {in case you missed the earlier post, that is Owen for duck} at the park!That's the darn goose that scared the mess out of me and O last time. This time? Paw Paw Mc had her eating out of his hand and let him pet her. He does have a knack with animals, but the scene did make me regret hitting her with a zip lock full of bread last time. I think she may look scarier than she is. O threw a couple of bites to the ccckkkss, but we did most of the feeding while he and Grammie wandered. I think O knew it wasn't our usual "order". Usually, we play first.

His favorite part {when not stalking another little girls balloons that were tied to a bench} was definitely the slide. He is so brave!!!

Saturday night, Grammie and Paw Paw Mc baby-sat, while GQ and I went out with his super fun friends Gail and Trey and their awesome girls Peri and Nora! Nora totally cracked me up you guys...she is a personality and a half!!!

Tonight, we went to jason and kristen's for the Superbowl. Owen entertained us and we got to watch bits and pieces of the game. That 100 yard TD was awesome!!!

Okay...I am off to check the score from the big game tonight to see if I am any richer! Thanks mom and Larry for letting us relax this weekend. Owen enjoyed it and so did we?!?! Are you guys ready to add Baby Q2 to the mix?