Lost Poem

So - many of you know, I am a constant doodler. Today, I found a little ditty I wrote early this summer. I was searching for real work related notes and found this written on the last page of one of my notebooks (amid neurosurgery marketing plans). Most likely following a sleepless night with Sweet Caroline.

Many of you also know we have a neighborhood owl, who typically wakes us in the middle of the night (3 - 4 a.m.). Often as I sat up with Caroline, I could hear the owl and her sweet voice reminded me of the soft, yet large voice the owl used to make her presence known.

Sweet Night Owl

Sweet night owl, hoots soft and sweet

Even as you’re fast asleep

I love your perfect lips and cheeks

Rest evades us, it’s sweet owl you speak

Nearly silent, but sweet as music

You sing your own lullaby

And both of us hear it

I adore your sweet tone

There’s nothing more innocent

One day you’ll sleep

But until then…

We’ll sing

Sassy Georgia

Georgia, who never wants her photo taken, decided last night to 'ham' it up. She snapped photos of both mom and dad and then asked for her photo to be snapped. She found a little bit of attitude. Perhaps she was back in single child mode since Caroline feel asleep for the night on the way home from the pediatrician's office around 5:45 p.m.

After a full morning at Hoots and Howls at the zoo, the girls both enjoyed a little bit of vanilla ice cream while we waited for the tram in Africa. Within minutes Caroline's chin broke out. This from the girl who eats yogurt and cheese on a daily basis. I didn't think much of it, but when she woke from her nap late in the afternoon, her eyes were puffy and her eyelids red, so I called the pediatrician to determine just how much Benedryl I could give her. Of course, they insisted on seeing her. 

The outcome, just a really sleep baby from the Benedryl and she was out for the night on our way home. She slept in the car until 8:15 p.m. when I moved her to bed. Poor little pumpkin. It did allow for a fun dinner of pigs in blankets (Georgia's first experience), several games of Twister (our latest garage sale purchase), and a fun photo shoot.

We love you Georgia Claire and all of your attitude!

SD Sale Photos

Georgia had a lot of fun at the sale and with her cousins - Caroline endured and slept a bit:)

Two Full Days of Auction Fun.

A few parting shots with one of mom's favorite trucks...

South Dakota Sale

It's been nearly 9 months since Uncle Jimmy was called home. It seems like such a long time and then in the same breath, like it was yesterday. Patrick and Uncle Topher have been busy...I think with quick math, I figured the Murano has endured 12,000 miles back and forth to SD (that's quite a bit of gas money), Kiewit Power has provided nearly four weeks of vacation for sale related events and on the low side these two have lifted, sorted and carried more than 15 TONS of STUFF! 

We know that 14 tons is the bare minimum, since they loaded and then unloaded 7 tons to the dump. Even when you see the photos it's hard to imagine the shear volume of stuff they have sorted, cleaned, boxed, emptied, carried, carried again, loaded onto trailers, drove to a different location, etc. You name it, they've done it. Uncle Jimmy is proud, I know that much - these two have worked as a team and conquered a lifetime of collections. In fact, maybe two lifetimes - Uncle Jimmy was a collector!

After so much work, the results were disappointing on so many levels, BUT, progress has been made. Only one more sale is left - the farm will be sold on October 4 and Patrick will endure one more trip back home. Following that there is the formal closing of the estate, the final accounting and distributions. For those that love their family members you may prayerfully consider who you have chosen to be the executor of your estate. Although I know Patrick has done an outstanding job, it is truly a second full-time job and he luckily, had lots of help.

I will post photos soon. Cheers to you Uncle Jim, you had an amazing collection of so many things. May we be inspired by your collections to perhaps, keep ours to a minimum:) Nice work Patrick, we're proud of you, but selfishly I'm really looking forward to having you back to our family full time after the first of the year!

So Many Updates...So Little Time

So, I needed to post these updates nearly 4 weeks ago. We had the best weekend and it was full of firsts. There were also several additional milestones I missed along the way. Now I'm playing catch up. So much more to come...

1. Caroline shared her first word with us - it is clearly 'Hello' - September 9
2. Georgia and Caroline engaged in their very first game of hide-n-go-seek. Self initiated by Georgia, it was pretty cute. August 31
3. Caroline is also sporting 2 small teeth on the bottom - after what has felt like months of teething, we celebrated her 11 month birthday with two tiny presents - August 18.
4. August 4 - Caroline showed us her first moves and started crawling.
5. August 19, both Caroline and Georgia were officially back in 'school' for the fall.
6. August 29, first official photo shoot for Caroline. Thank you Marcy! Great pics of both the girls, but older sister was a stinker, so only one of them together. Soon a sneak peek.

Photo Shoot

So, last Saturday after wanting to capture a few photos of the girls in some sweet new outfits from 'Aunt' Jodi, I finally made it happen. Out of literally 100 shots, I didn't get anything good, but GA was a good sport, so I dolled a few up.

For close family and friends you know how infrequently Georgia decides to smile for photos, so I figured I would make work what I could. Scheduled for a 'real' shoot next week and looking forward to it!

Until then - enjoy these 'mom' shots.

So Much to Catch Up On...

I can not believe that Caroline is sneaking up on 11 months - and the last update we shared was nearly five months ago. Wow!

So, what have we been up to? Well, Jen is now working at Children's Mercy, Patrick has made lots of trips to SD, Caroline is now officially crawling, Georgia has a new tire swing and has transitioned to the Jewish Community Center and no many others.

The other big purchase for those that know us well, was the retirement of the Audi. After 13 years we finally called 'mercy' and traded her in - what a day. I found myself justifying why it was a great car to the salesman, I'm pretty sure he thought I was halfway crazy:)

Here's to girls sleeping through the night, greater time to share updates from our family and renewed friendships with family and friends. We've missed you and we're anxious to share a bit more moving forward.

For tonight, we're celebrating Caroline taking off crawling two days ago - there's no turning back now - watch out Georgia the next six months are going to fly by! More photos and details to follow -

Caroline Quinn - 6 months old!

I can hardly believe how quickly the time has gone - but we celebrated Caroline's half birthday last week. Grandma snapped this cute shot of Caroline when we visited this past week. She officially making trips out of the house, smiling, giggling, rolling over, cooing and on rare occasion sleeping 6 hours at night! Thanks cousin Emily for the super cute hat - she's getting rave reviews at the doctors office!

Growing Up! - 6 months old

Latest Craft Project

So, it's been 6 weeks since I we met grandpa at Home Depot so I could get my all important $20 piece of insulation foam. I had this grand idea brewing that I could easily update one of the walls in our living room for a few dollars. 

I used my 50% off coupon and headed to Joann Fabrics and picked out some coordinating decorator fabrics, 500 push pins, and headed home to get started. Needless to say I got distracted with life and just finished the project this past week. Despite the delays, I am happy with the end result. And my brilliant husband was able to hang with just 3 small nails, so the wall is still in great shape, should I decide to change my mind - which, of course, he knows happens all too often.

I think I might still change up the bottom wall hanging, but for now, the wall is more full and I have checked one small project off my list.

Snow Day - Palm Sunday

Perfect start to a late snow day...french press coffee

and a delightful tea party - complete with breakfast - thanks Georgia

The power lines look low, but dinner is underway and we're warm and toasty for now.

Caroline Quinn Baptized

Child of God

More than a month ago Caroline Quinn was welcomed into the church through her first sacrament, baptism. And today as the Catholic church names a new pope, I'm finally sharing photos and summary of the day. It was a beautiful, private ceremony full of family and friends. Our dear friends, Dan and Emily, who have prayed for Caroline, delivered countless meals to our house and entertained Georgia with play dates stood up as Caroline's Godparents.

February 10th, just before Valentine's, was a perfect day of love. Caroline was perfect, although she didn't offer many smiles, her face radiated peace. We were doubly blessed with these beautiful photos, taken by Kristine - who can make Caroline smile better than her momma!

Caroline wore the same dress as Georgia and their baptism dates are separated by just 10 days (and 3 years). Grandma also hosted a wonderful celebration gathering following the baptism. It was such a treat to visit with family and friends and not worry about a thing - thank you grandma!

From our blessed family to yours - might we always remember the beautiful gift of baptism and  be the role models our girls deserve. Godspeed!

Child of God - Baptized 2.10.13

Kristine and Mary - Caroline's Angels (nannies)

Crew...

Godmother with Scotty counting 'piggies'

4 Month Update

Hard to believe that Caroline celebrated her 4 month birthday yesterday - the time is going so quickly. I realize that I have failed to provide holiday updates and photos - but considering we just took down our Christmas trees, you may still get a treat or two.

After staying in for nearly 1 month, Caroline and I ventured back to the doctor on Friday afternoon after a full week of little interest in eating. What we know for sure is that she is still on track with growth and development - weighing in at 11 pounds, 1 ounce! This maintains her status at the 3rd percentile! The conclusion of the visit was either a viral infection with limited symptoms or a change in her reflux with a proposed new medication routine.

We are reluctant to try a new medication, given our experience around Thanksgiving, but we'll see if she regains any of her appetite. So far, the weekend did not seem promising, but as you can see it has had little impact on her sweet cheeks.

She is entertaining us with miles and miles of smiles and occasionally a giggle or two. She has officially transitioned out of her swing at night into her big girl crib, although we haven't maintained our dreamy sleep schedule (most likely due to the limited food intake she is currently working through). She loves baths, her big sister, the ceiling fan in our office, the sling and piano music. What a treat. We are reminded everyday what a blessing our lives our and look forward to sharing more stories of progress with all of you over the coming months. Hard to believe she weighs almost 4 times more than when she was born. This girl is busy growing!

1.20.2013 - 4 months old

Sweet Caroline Onsie from Uncle Topher. Love the dimple action

Outfit from cousin Betsy - still remember her wearing this

Over the past couple of weeks, Georgia has had lots of excitement herself. She started dance last week, and excited doesn't begin to capture her spirit. This little lady is thrilled with this decision and takes mom and dad to dance class nearly every evening. Wednesday's are lining up to be her favorite day at school! Pictures to come...

Loving their treat bags

And then on Saturday she attended Sesame Street Live with her good friend, Scotty. They had a great time and were mesmerized with all of the onstage singing and dancing by Elmo and Abby.

Heavenly Homecoming

After many long months of ups and downs, Uncle Jimmy was called home on Thursday morning. We're expecting he had quite the heavenly homecoming seeing his dad and brother again. We are grateful for the hospice nurses, nursing home and hospital staff in Scotland, SD and the many friends and family who visited Jim over the past couple months. 

We rejoice in the conclusion of his pain and homecoming and pray for peace in the months to come. We knew his time was drawing near and I was convinced when I saw a black cat on Tuesday evening. Selfishly, we're praying for safe travels as Patrick, Georgia and I coordinate travel schedules and leave baby Caroline for the first time overnight with grandma.

Godspeed Uncle Jimmy - Cheers to a life well lived!