The Quin(n)tessential Party

*This post was written a month ago, and I realized that I never got around to publishing it due to photo complications. Since I use this blog as a personal memory preservation tool for my family, I am posting it anyway. Please bare with me and forgive my tardiness regarding this OLD news! :)

...For the Quin(n)tessential Kid!

We had a wonderful time with family and friends celebrating Quinn's first year of life the last weekend in June. In a nutshell, we barbecued, ate a lot, visited, spoiled Quinn with gifts and cake, watched the kids enjoy splashing in the pool and running around the yard, and most importantly, just enjoyed our time together.

As you'll be able to see, Quinn's first cake eating experience was a bit anticlimactic. In hindsight, he really didn't need his very own cake! A simple slice would have been just fine. :) The big cake that we were trying to get a family picture with at the beginning of the video was decorated by Pat. Didn't he do great? Quinn wasn't too interested in posing for a picture though. He was ready to dig in right away. So we quickly gave him his personal "first birthday freebie" cake and let him go to town. He got through about 1/3 of the frosting, and was then in a sufficient sugar comatose to get out and play!



Pat and I snapped a few photos before people arrived of the decor (which I had fun obsessing about for months), but sadly, didn't get any once the party actually began. Thankfully, Will was there with camera in hand! Below is a link to an album of the photos we have from the day. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kimberlygillette/TheQuinNTessentialFirstBirthdayParty#

We love you Quinn! You have fulfilled our lives in immeasurable ways and we are so proud to be your parents. Happy first birthday!

Happy Birthday, Quinn!

One month later... so, I know I'm a little late reporting the festivities that surrounded Quinn's epic first birthday, but I figure it's better late than never, right??

Quinn had such a fun first birthday filled with family, animals, food, and baseball! Throughout the day we had Pat's family coming in to town to go with Quinn to his first Mariners/Cubs baseball game. Amazingly enough, the Cubs were playing the Mariners for inter-league play. This only occurs once in a blue moon and the fact it landed on Quinn's birthday was beyond awesome.

Mariah and Eric showed up first and got some quality play time in with the birthday boy while Pat and I got ready. Then we (Mariah, Eric, Pat and I) took Quinn to the Woodland Park Zoo. Summer weather had been non-existent around here (like most of the Northwest) and so when the sun came out we appreciated it more than ever. It was a beautiful day, and Quinn seemed to enjoy looking at all of the zoo animals. He even started doing a pretty great monkey impression, complete with flailing appendages. We spent a couple of hours there, and based on Quinn's temperament we probably could have stayed longer, but we were anxious to get back home to see the rest of the family who had made the drive for Quinn's special day. Okay, who am I kidding, they made the drive for the baseball game! Nonetheless, we were excited to see them!


The Zoo Crew. That's right. I said Crew.

Auntie and Uncle

The Zoo makes Quinn happy

Um...there is probably an animal back there somewhere. Maybe not.

Monkey faces!!

Now let's go over there.

When we got home, Uncle Matt, Auntie Lolo, Papa, and Nana were there to greet us. Quinn got a little more play time in (since he refused to nap with all of the excitement going on around him), while the rest of us caught up and snacked a little, or a lot.

Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the baseball game and head on back to Seattle. Quinn was decked out in his "I might be little but I'm a HUGE cubs fan" onesie, Cubs hoodie, and Cubs baseball cap. I thought that we would stick out like a sore thumb at a Mariners game in all of our Cubs attire, but there seemed to be as many Cubs fans there as Mariners fans. It was nice to be in good company!




Psycho Dad!! ONE!

Other Auntie and Uncle

Let's go Cubs!!! Oh no! They're losing!!!

Nana and Papa Sisters/Aunties/Cubs fans


The game itself was BORING (although this is not the opinion of the entire Gillette family). The Cubs lost (a rarity, HA!), but we had a nice time watching Quinn soak up this classic American pastime. I was nervous about how Quinn would do since the game didn't start until Quinn's bedtime, but he did wonderfully! Our child knows how to "power through for the fun"!


'Not the best outcome' faces

In fact, Quinn stayed awake to celebrate the actual minute he was born (9:57 pm!), and then he crashed in the car on the way home. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Quinn's birthday! It was such a memorable day, and most importantly, Quinn seemed to really have a good time!

It was a good group, and a fun day!

Achievement of the Day

It has been scientifically proven. Quinn is a complete and utter genius. The proof? Today Quinn managed to jostle open our high-tech, baby-locked, it-takes-each-adult-about-10-minutes-of-fiddling-to-figure-it-out safety gate. I have our upstairs fairly "baby proofed" (so I thought) and so while I get ready in the mornings I let Quinn have free reign. I had heard him playing with the gate, but knew that it was locked and so I didn't worry about it. Eventually I realized that I hadn't heard him fiddling with it anymore and so I decided to see which room he had ventured to next (he loves pulling books off of our bookshelf and so I was expecting to find a disaster somewhere... or, remember the closet incident?). Much to my surprise, he was sitting at the top of the stairs, swinging his feet and looking prouder than I've ever seen him. Thank goodness he just sat there to gloat and didn't try going down! I wish that I had snapped a quick picture, but I was too panicked and focused on getting him into a safer situation. What was I thinking? I guess you'll just have to use your imagination!

Bust A Move!

This past weekend we took a trip to Albuquerque with my parents to see my beautiful cousin Jana get married. It took place at the Sandia resort and casino looking out on a golf course with a nice view of the Sandia mountains in the background. The highlight of our trip was undoubtedly getting to see family that I hadn't seen in years, 5 years to be exact. Introducing Pat and Quinn to the family was such a joy for me. Even though I don't get to see this family very often, they are so warm and loving that it makes it feel like I see them everyday. Nothing compares to that Southern hospitality!

This trip we learned something new about our darling little Quinn, as well. He is a party animal! He wanted to be on the dance floor playing with the other kids in the beginning, and by the end (after careful observation) he was mimicking a variety of dance moves. He was so active, in fact, that we had him out in the lobby area for a lot of the reception. The first video starts out in the lobby when Quinn had been spending some time with my parents while Pat and I enjoyed some dance time together in the reception hall. We went out to check on him, discovering that he had befriended a little guy just a couple of weeks older (I believe) and they were practicing their dance moves together (you'll notice Quinn attempting a few break dance tricks as well). As the video gets dark, Pat is following Quinn into the reception hall where Quinn maneuvers himself around the guests, making his way to the dance floor. Like I said, the kid likes to party! Pat and I have never been great dancers, so I'm pretty sure Quinn will be teaching us the latest and greatest moves in no time! The second video is Quinn on the dance floor showing us his moves (it's very difficult to see because it's so dark, but I figured I'd give it a try for those of you who are interested)!

Good Fun With Grandpa!

Quinn loves his Grandpa so much! Here are a couple of clips of Quinn and his Grandpa playing away the weekend of his party (June 25). Enjoy!

The Price You Pay...

...for using the restroom with a toddler in the house!

I am learning that with each medial task I try to tackle throughout the day (use the restroom, clean the kitchen, make something delicious for myself besides mac 'n cheese or crackers) there comes some serious consequences. Quinn is getting faster and faster at being destructive and here is a glimpse of what he was able to accomplish in a matter of seconds. My neatly organized closet, color-coordinated and arranged by season, was completely (okay, maybe not completely) destroyed by my adorable little angel.

I don't even want to share what he's been able to accomplish as I type out my woes! There's a reason I save my blogging for nighttime when the little guy is snoozing away in a sweet slumber.

Quinn Quiz

So, there were many festivities (okay, two) surrounding Quinn's birthday that I'll go into detail about in another post (or two), but I thought I'd share the "Quinn Quiz" that Pat and I created for his party! Test your knowledge of our little man here! :)

1. In Quinn’s first year of life, he was on how many flights?

a. 47

b. 2

c. 6

d. 1

2. How many states did Quinn visit in his first year of life?

a. 5

b. 2

c. 54

d. 9

3. What is Quinn’s middle name?

a. Thaddeus

b. Patrick

c. Tiberius

d. Zachary

4. What is Quinn’s largest stuffed animal?

a. Teddy Bear

b. Penguin

c. Gorilla

d. Dolphin

5. What’s Quinn’s favorite toy?

a. Cell phone

b. Remote control

c. Lap top

d. All of the above

6. How many Cubs games did Quinn go to in his first year of life?

a. 0

b. 2

c. 4

d. 1

7. Where was Quinn born?

a. San Jose, CA

b. El Paso, TX

c. Walla Walla, WA

d. San Francisco, CA

8. How many teeth does Quinn have?

a. 1

b. 7

c. 12

d. 3

9. Which element does Quinn love to, and get to play with?

a. Earth

b. Fire

c. Water

d. Hydrogen

10. How old is Quinn?

a. 1

b. 87, Benjamin Button style.

c. 5 Weeks

d. a. The answer is a. C’mon people. Thanks for playing!

*Please forgive the terrible spacing. Copy and pasting has not been working out for me very well this evening, and I'm giving up! You get the idea... :)

12 Months!

We did it, we survived our first year of parenthood (and what an amazing year it’s been)! Two weeks ago, our little boy celebrated his first birthday. Memorable moments from this past month include:

Milestones:

• New sounds
• “m” (we think he learned from his buddy Kia’i who says "mama" all day long!)
• “n”
• First word
• Nana
• (translation: banana and most recently, anything food/hunger related)
• He’s been saying dada for many months as well, but we’re not convinced he’s connected the word dada with his daddy.
• ·First antibiotics
• Pink eye/ear infection (unfortunately)
• Pouting with purpose
• Quinn knows what he wants and he has been testing “the cry method” as a means of getting it!
• Great mimicking
• Patty cake
• #1 (this may look a lot like pointing, but we’re pretty sure it’s #1)
• Putting the phone to his ear and saying something that resembles “hiii”
• Strumming lips (Pat and my personal favorite)
• Pointing
• First mini-haircut

He has his 12-month check-up next week, and so we'll learn his most recent stats then!

On the eve of Quinn's first birthday, we took a stroll to Gasworks Park with our great friend, (and photographer) Will, for his one-year photo shoot. Below are the photos that we feel best document Quinn's personality.

Goofy Quinn face (with his hometown monument in the background)


Our little independent explorer!


"Look, it's the Space Needle!"


Quinn on a mission.


My personal favorite!

We aimed for a few nice family shots as well:










Happy birthday, Quinn!

Quinn's First Haircut!

For Quinn's first birthday, he wanted to get spruced up a bit by getting his very first *haircut. He could have probably gone another year without actually needing one, but it was growing in funny and Mommy wanted it cleaned up. So on Friday, June 18, we said goodbye to his less-than-desirable "wispy mullet" and hello to his new-and-improved toddler do.


Before

Quinn was slightly terrified by the trimming, but since there were no tears I deem the experience a success!

I hear that the first haircut can be an emotional milestone (if you can call a haircut a milestone?) but for me it was no big deal. I love my little toddler and his boyish new looks!


After

Quinn did a great job, but what little boy wouldn't while driving this sweet fire engine?

*The word "haircut" is used quite loosely in this post. The only hairs that were touched during this said "haircut" were on the sides and back of his head, for we would hate to loose the bits that have grown in elsewhere! Don't worry Quinn, someday you'll have a thick head of hair just like your Mommy and Daddy. But, if you're lucky enough to continue to have hair like your Daddy did when he was little, you might be waiting for puberty before you see those thick locks!

The River of the Sun

Nearly 5 years ago I had the opportunity to introduce Shelby to one of my family's favorite vacation spots, Sunriver, to celebrate our college graduation. Sunriver is a beautiful little resort town nestled at the base of the Cascades just South of Bend. The first weekend in June, Shelby and I visited Sunriver again (along with my parents and Aunt Becky) but this time with our sons and Kiley (Shelby's husband). It was surreal to be there again with Shelby and reflect on how much our lives have changed over the past five years. Has it really been five years since we graduated college? It feels like just yesterday. We've both gotten married, had our own classrooms, traveled, moved, and most recently, had beautiful and healthy little boys (only two short months apart). Shelby is one of the kindest people I have ever known, and I feel so blessed to call her my friend.

The whole gang stayed in a rented home near Fort Rock Park, the largest park in Sunriver. We had fun taking the boys to the park to play (and let's be real, for photo opportunities), going on scenic bike rides (while my parents took the boys for walks), visiting the indoor pool at Mavericks, playing cards, the inevitable late LATE night chats, and simply relaxing at the house together.

The only missing piece to the perfect vacation was Pat. :( He was finishing up his contract at Bungie and could not take time off. In fact, in addition to working 12+ hours a day at work, he was working 4+ hours at home afterwards on an animation test for another company. We missed him like crazy, but had we been home, it would have been much harder for him to get done all he needed to that week.

Thanks for such a wonderful vacation, Loo family. We'll look forward to visiting Sunriver again in 2015! And the Gillettes will look forward to visiting you on your beautiful island (or one of your beautiful islands) in 2011! We love you!!


Fast friends!

It's no wonder we all got sick after this trip... :)

Quinn's first swim ever, at Mavericks in Sunriver!

Had to taste the water, of course.

He looks a little terrified here, but I promise he was having a good time.

Kia'i and Kiley

Mama and Quinn

The swimmers

Lovin' the nature in his PJs

Grandpa and Quinn connecting with the deer right outside our deck.

"Come on Kia'i, let's go play somewhere else."

Peek-a-boo with daddy's hat is hilarious!

Slides are fun.

Love them.

Beautiful family

We love Sunriver!

*Thankfully, Pat was able to meet Kia'i and visit with the Loos the weekend prior to our travels to Sunriver. The Loos were in McMinnville for Kiley's sister's college graduation and we were visiting Monmouth for Memorial Day weekend. Great times were had by all!