We have a crib escapee! Yesterday, during Quinn's afternoon nap, Randy and I were working in our home office when all of a sudden we heard a loud THUD. You guessed it: Quinn had climbed (and proceeded to fall) out of her crib. We bolted upstairs to find her on the ground, howling. She refused to go back in her crib for her nap, so Randy made her a little bed on the floor with pillows and blankets. Later that afternoon, he lowered the crib all. the. way. I can barely even reach Quinn to get her out unless she is standing on tiptoes with arms extended! She went to bed fine last night and stayed in her crib. :-) We are still planning on transitioning her to a big-girl bed sometime late this fall, but definitely not yet!
Speaking of bedtime and official announcements, I think we have finally broken the habit of putting Quinn to bed with milk. To be honest, this was probably much more a crutch for Randy and me than it was something Quinn really needed/wanted. Since she was such a terrible sleeper for such a long stretch of time, giving her a bottle was the only thing that gave us any relief. Even though she's been drinking from a sippy cup for at least 6 months now, we just never got around to breaking the bottle-at-bedtime routine. The other day, I just decided I'd had enough (thanks, What to Expect the Second Year), so we made the change. We have had two successful days and two successful nights so far (except for the crib-climbing incident), and it seems so silly that we didn't do this at a year old, like we should have. Live and learn! I am ready to get rid of bottles in my cabinet for a while.
It is a hot day already! Quinn and I went on our walk and are enjoying a cold drink. Looks like a good day to play inside. :-)
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Books from last week
I'm short on time (what else is new?) but I wanted to share with you all the books that I read this past week. This was a good week for recently written books!
#1: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
#2: The Priest's Graveyard, by Ted Dekker
#3: Theodore Boone: The Abduction, by John Grisham
#1: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
#2: The Priest's Graveyard, by Ted Dekker
#3: Theodore Boone: The Abduction, by John Grisham
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Last week's books
I had another great week of summer reading!
I squeezed in three books.
The first: Sister, by Rosamund Lipton
This is a British thriller about a woman who returns home to London to take care of her sister's things after said sister's alleged suicide. However, all signs point point to something fishy, and the book revolves around the NYC sister's battle to get police, doctors, and neighbors to believe that her sister was murdered. Very, very creepy! I gasped out loud several times for sure. This was Rosamund Lupton's first book, and I am hoping for another soon!
The second: Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See
This is the sequel to Shanghai Girls, which is one of my favorite books. I was surprised to see this book come out, because I didn't even know See was writing a sequel! I am always a little wary of sequels when I really enjoyed the first book, but this did not disappoint. This book is from the point of view of Joy, the daughter character from the first book. It takes place during the 1950s in rural China. Joy has run away to aid her Chinese relatives in the Great Leap Forward, working in communes, contributing to the population boom, and risking her life in multiple was. This book was so well-written and rivals its predecessor. I love reading about different cultures/countries, especially during significant historical periods, so this one fit the bill for sure.
The third: Angel Falls, by Kristin Hannah
Summer guilty pleasure reading at its finest. :-) This was another Kristin Hannah book that I hadn't read. This is the first of her novels I've come across that didn't feature a female protagonist or a sister/sister or best friend relationship. It was refreshing to hear this story from a male's point of view. It is the story of a woman who falls off a horse, suffering major injuries and ending up in a coma. Nothing can rouse her from her coma except the mention of her first (estranged) husband's name. The story of their enigmatic relationship is revealed through various family members' anecdotes, the woman's thoughts, and flashbacks. When the woman wakes up, she has lost most of her memory, so the book morphs into the story of her choosing between two men and two very different lives. This was a very fast, easy book, and a good little love story. :-)
I squeezed in three books.
The first: Sister, by Rosamund Lipton
This is a British thriller about a woman who returns home to London to take care of her sister's things after said sister's alleged suicide. However, all signs point point to something fishy, and the book revolves around the NYC sister's battle to get police, doctors, and neighbors to believe that her sister was murdered. Very, very creepy! I gasped out loud several times for sure. This was Rosamund Lupton's first book, and I am hoping for another soon!
The second: Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See
This is the sequel to Shanghai Girls, which is one of my favorite books. I was surprised to see this book come out, because I didn't even know See was writing a sequel! I am always a little wary of sequels when I really enjoyed the first book, but this did not disappoint. This book is from the point of view of Joy, the daughter character from the first book. It takes place during the 1950s in rural China. Joy has run away to aid her Chinese relatives in the Great Leap Forward, working in communes, contributing to the population boom, and risking her life in multiple was. This book was so well-written and rivals its predecessor. I love reading about different cultures/countries, especially during significant historical periods, so this one fit the bill for sure.
The third: Angel Falls, by Kristin Hannah
Summer guilty pleasure reading at its finest. :-) This was another Kristin Hannah book that I hadn't read. This is the first of her novels I've come across that didn't feature a female protagonist or a sister/sister or best friend relationship. It was refreshing to hear this story from a male's point of view. It is the story of a woman who falls off a horse, suffering major injuries and ending up in a coma. Nothing can rouse her from her coma except the mention of her first (estranged) husband's name. The story of their enigmatic relationship is revealed through various family members' anecdotes, the woman's thoughts, and flashbacks. When the woman wakes up, she has lost most of her memory, so the book morphs into the story of her choosing between two men and two very different lives. This was a very fast, easy book, and a good little love story. :-)
Friday, July 22, 2011
Fashionable Friday
Loving the cute GAP sundress and wedges for Mama's doctor's appointment!
My appointment this morning went great! Normally I take Quinn to day care when I have appointments, but since this one was at 8, Randy was able to go with me and corral her while I talked to the doctor. Now that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy I will be going to the doctor more frequently. Everything is still going great. I am definitely very hot and very uncomfortable, but glad that the baby is healthy!
Happy Friday!
My appointment this morning went great! Normally I take Quinn to day care when I have appointments, but since this one was at 8, Randy was able to go with me and corral her while I talked to the doctor. Now that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy I will be going to the doctor more frequently. Everything is still going great. I am definitely very hot and very uncomfortable, but glad that the baby is healthy!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Home!
So the title of this blog could be perceived in two different ways...
Quinn, Randy, and I are all HOME in Waukee after our vacations.
Quinn's and my vacation was HOME to WESTSIDE! Hooray! :-) If anyone doesn't know, Westside is where I grew up and where my parents still reside. My mom still teaches, and my dad is retired from teaching but still works other jobs. They are seriously the best grandparents in the world! My mom has so much patience, and my dad is just so kindhearted around his grandkids. They all love their Grandma and Papa. This week, Quinn got so good at saying "Papa" and loved playing with my parents' cat and turtle. She is entertained by almost anything, so she had a blast just running around their house. Nothing is off-limits to kids at their place (totally child and baby-proofed) so she just has so much freedom. What a life for a 1 year old!!
Anyway, it was very relaxing to go and stay for a few days. I didn't take a single picture - we were having too much fun! I got to take a few naps and lay on the couch and read, so I was a happy camper. No stress!
Randy was out in Western Nebraska for work. His trip there took 8 hours! Yikes! We had breakfast together Monday morning and then went our separate ways. He got home Wednesday evening, and Quinn and I got home around 10:00. She went straight from carseat to bed without a peep, and Randy and I got to visit for a little bit. We were both tired from driving!
Now, home for two days before we hit the road again. This time: Omaha on Saturday. Summer is all about road trips, right?
Hoping for some summer fun in the sun today with Quinners! Happy Thursday!
Quinn, Randy, and I are all HOME in Waukee after our vacations.
Quinn's and my vacation was HOME to WESTSIDE! Hooray! :-) If anyone doesn't know, Westside is where I grew up and where my parents still reside. My mom still teaches, and my dad is retired from teaching but still works other jobs. They are seriously the best grandparents in the world! My mom has so much patience, and my dad is just so kindhearted around his grandkids. They all love their Grandma and Papa. This week, Quinn got so good at saying "Papa" and loved playing with my parents' cat and turtle. She is entertained by almost anything, so she had a blast just running around their house. Nothing is off-limits to kids at their place (totally child and baby-proofed) so she just has so much freedom. What a life for a 1 year old!!
Anyway, it was very relaxing to go and stay for a few days. I didn't take a single picture - we were having too much fun! I got to take a few naps and lay on the couch and read, so I was a happy camper. No stress!
Randy was out in Western Nebraska for work. His trip there took 8 hours! Yikes! We had breakfast together Monday morning and then went our separate ways. He got home Wednesday evening, and Quinn and I got home around 10:00. She went straight from carseat to bed without a peep, and Randy and I got to visit for a little bit. We were both tired from driving!
Now, home for two days before we hit the road again. This time: Omaha on Saturday. Summer is all about road trips, right?
Hoping for some summer fun in the sun today with Quinners! Happy Thursday!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Books I read this week!
I always have friends asking me for book recommendations, so I thought I would share with you the books that I read this week.
I finished this while traveling this weekend: These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf
I had never read anything by this author before, but I liked the cover and premise when it came up on my Nook homepage. I had just finished reading After by Amy Efaw, which is topically very similar. Both books are about teenage mothers who abandon their babies. This book was incredibly creepy, but very, very good. It was told from the points of view of four different women, which was unique and unexpected. Having just read a book similar to this, I got a little weak-stomached at times, but all-in-all it was an outstanding, quick read!
Then, I read this: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
I have read a million Kristin Hannah books, but for some reason hadn't read her most popular one! It was very typical women's lit: two childhood best friends from opposite sides of the tracks, aspiring to make it big in journalism, told with tons of references to '70s-'90s pop culture and music. I loved the storyline and connected with both of the main characters. I wouldn't call this book thrilling or exciting by any means, but Kristin Hannah always delivers a good story that tugs at your heart. My favorite Kristin Hannah book is still True Colors, so if you haven't read anything by her, that's a great one to start with.
I just finished this this morning: The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
Wow. I have never read a book like this before. It centers on the love story between a mentally handicapped woman and a deaf-mute man in a 1960s mental institution. This author explains tons of the research that she did on such institutions, and it is harrowing to believe that the awful things done to these residents happened in real life, too. This book was so good: it followed this couple, who eventually get separated, and the woman's daughter over the course of 50 years. I love how Rachel Simon wove the characters, both main and secondary, together through their stories, letters, and anecdotes. I haven't read Riding the Bus with my Sister, which is a memoir that this author penned about life with her mentally disabled sister, but I will definitely be reading it soon!
All good books! It was a good week for reading. Beautiful Girl was definitely the best and most unique book out of the bunch, and something different for summer.
I finished this while traveling this weekend: These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf
I had never read anything by this author before, but I liked the cover and premise when it came up on my Nook homepage. I had just finished reading After by Amy Efaw, which is topically very similar. Both books are about teenage mothers who abandon their babies. This book was incredibly creepy, but very, very good. It was told from the points of view of four different women, which was unique and unexpected. Having just read a book similar to this, I got a little weak-stomached at times, but all-in-all it was an outstanding, quick read!
Then, I read this: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
I have read a million Kristin Hannah books, but for some reason hadn't read her most popular one! It was very typical women's lit: two childhood best friends from opposite sides of the tracks, aspiring to make it big in journalism, told with tons of references to '70s-'90s pop culture and music. I loved the storyline and connected with both of the main characters. I wouldn't call this book thrilling or exciting by any means, but Kristin Hannah always delivers a good story that tugs at your heart. My favorite Kristin Hannah book is still True Colors, so if you haven't read anything by her, that's a great one to start with.
I just finished this this morning: The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
Wow. I have never read a book like this before. It centers on the love story between a mentally handicapped woman and a deaf-mute man in a 1960s mental institution. This author explains tons of the research that she did on such institutions, and it is harrowing to believe that the awful things done to these residents happened in real life, too. This book was so good: it followed this couple, who eventually get separated, and the woman's daughter over the course of 50 years. I love how Rachel Simon wove the characters, both main and secondary, together through their stories, letters, and anecdotes. I haven't read Riding the Bus with my Sister, which is a memoir that this author penned about life with her mentally disabled sister, but I will definitely be reading it soon!
All good books! It was a good week for reading. Beautiful Girl was definitely the best and most unique book out of the bunch, and something different for summer.
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