Smith Playground

We have been so busy this summer... Between the shore and staying cool at the pool and going to parties, we haven't had much time to send updates.

Last weekend, Quinn finally found some time to hang out with his old buddy from daycare, Marcos. I'll upload pictures later, since I'm on my POS work computer that will crash if I try to do anything more complicated than having a single window of Firefox open.
Here is one:


Marcos and Quinn went to Smith Playground and had a total blast. I was a little nervous, never having been there, that there would be a bunch of pushy older kids keeping us from our fun, but it was pleasantly not overcrowded and all the kids were really well behaved. Quinn loved the swings and this spinning cage thing, that he and Marcos sat inside with Marcos's dad for a long time while Marcos's mom and I spun it around and took pictures.

What he really loved was the giant slide. He had to go down with me and the line kept coming and going (Quinn, as I discovered, is not a fan of waiting in line) so we only went twice with promises to come back, hopefully with Daddy and we can go down again. It was a really fast slide, so I'm surprised he didn't freak out! I freaked out a little on the first try. Quinn has the need for speed, though.

He passed out in the car on the way home and slept forever after. We were waiting for him to wake up to go to the pool! We did eventually get to the pool. He slept really well that night.

it's summer

Ahh, Quinn's been walking:
EXTREMELY POOR QUALITY VIDEO

Playing at the beach:


Swimming at the pool:

(he actually loves going in the pool now)

Dressing like a metal head:


And eating fresh blueberries in season:

(these cause some alarming diapers, though)

Brown Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Familytree - Old pictures

Memorial Day weekend

We had a very busy weekend.

First, we went to Mayfair, a street fair in Collingswood. Quinn got to test out his new red wagon. He enjoyed this thoroughly. It started to get a little cumbersome when the crowd started to fill in, but it was fun for him to have a whole wagon to himself.

Then, we headed for the shore. We were not sure how Quinn would take to the sand, but he loved it. Here is a picture of him at the playground at the beach:



On Monday, we went to the club to go play in the pool. Quinn was still not totally sure of that situation, but managed to play a little bit in the water. It was cold, so we didn't play for long, but I have high hopes for him once it gets a little warmer.

Being Mr. Charisma, he managed to make new friends everywhere he went. He does seem to like the little ladies, though.

One year checkup

Quinn left his one year check up with a supply of bubblegum pink goo to treat an ear infection that we hadn't even realized he had. He doesn't complain much, so the only sign was that we woke up in the middle of the night for 2 nights before the appointment.

He is otherwise healthy and thriving. He is 31 7/8 inches long (95 pecentile) and 22.5 lbs (25-50 percentile)

Afterward, we met up with daddy after playing at the goat in Rittenhouse Square.



We had dinner at Monk's. I had a delicious Founder's Backwoods Bastard. It tasted like Bourbon, except it was not nasty and harsh like Bourbon is.

new pictures, party and stuff

There are a bunch of new pictures on Quinn's photo site. The commentary is still coming.

May 2008

There's a cake eating video, too:

Grandma and Grandpa visit

And Quinn was sick again... He's always sick when he's visiting with them! so frustrating.

But He was well enough to play around a little.

Here are some pictures:

With Grandma


With Grandpa and Daddy


Hanging out in the yard


Going to the Rittenhouse Row festival (I have at least another picture of him here, but I need to upload it)

Also, we went to cousin James' christening on Sunday:

All dressed up with mommy!

I have not been slacking

I've been really busy and Eric doesn't post here without being set up by me.

I am training a new class of volunteers at work, which requires me to work several nights a week, so when I'm not in the office, I'm enjoying the spring weather or I am passed out in a ball on the bed.

Also, everyone in the house has just been wiped out with some awful cold or allergies or combination thereof. I know my throat was sore for a solid 2 weeks.

Hopefully I will return with more pictures and updates soon!

PopShop on TV

One of our local (new local) favorite food spots was featured on Bobby Flay's "Throwdown" last night.

We missed it!

But there is a listing of future airdates here

I know I'm setting the DVR.

The episode is about grilled cheese sandwiches and the PopShop offers >30 varieties. I've only had one, so far, so I can't vouch for the rest.

Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone « FreeRangeKids

Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone « FreeRangeKids
Whethe you agree or not, it's an interesting read into overprotectivness (or underprotectiveness!).

I found it from the Game Theorist site, and I'm most moved by this quote (from Game Theorist):

"Of course, the storm she encountered makes me wonder whether we caged our kids because we really think we are protecting them or if we caged them because we are protecting ourselves from what other people will think"

The Park!

Saturday was a really nice day, so all morning we were all "We MUST go to the park!"

See, Quinn had never tried out a swing before. He wasn't big enough until it was too cold and icky outside all the time.

This is a pretty big deal.

We rushed over there (even drove! but we were a little pressed for time) and rushed him to the swingset.

At first, he was like "Whoa, daddy. Is this safe?"



And then he was loving it:


Here's a video (he looks like he was swinging higher than he actually was)


He also rode a duck (this kid and his ducks!):

NO PHOTOGRAPHS PLEASE!

It was fun, but, seriously, there's not much to do with a baby at a park. NOt that we were let down, we just didnt' end up staying very long because we were all like, "umm, we can go on the swings again"

When the ground is drier we can do some free range baby roamin' but until then we'll take the park in small doses.

Little Gym Little Gym, let me in...

Two weeks ago, we went to our friend, Ethan's 3rd birthday party. It was held at the Little Gym. This was Quinn's first time to this kind of place. He had a lot of fun, and was even surprised by two of his daycare friends being in attendance. Joey and Dean were there.

Quinn just tore around the room, climbing and crawling and flailing about with abandon. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring a camera to document this fun.

We did get some pictures of his next trip to Little Gym, this time for Maddie's party.

Let's take a look:

Sittin on the squishy things


There's the birthday girl and her mommy!


Walking on the parallel bars


Hanging out with John Paul


When I wasn't playing my hiney off, I was standing against the window, trying to get all the grownups' attention.


And I hung from the high bar
(video of this: http://picasaweb.google.com/ginnyjuice/April2008/photo#5187683385786458210)

After Maddie's party at the Little Gym, everyone continued over to Maddies' parents house. They had lots of toys there for Quinn to try out! It was a very busy day.

Quinn enjoying the warm weather...

Partying like a regular guy...

Quinn's becoming quite the mini socialite lately with a constant stream of party invitations. I wish I were so popular!

On March 29, he went to his buddy Marcos' party. It was at Dave and Busters, but I learned that Quinn can't play pool. Well, I didn't want to risk having him beat me so we never tried. How embarrassing would that be?

These two met at daycare and were the 2 littlest guys in the room when Quinn first got there. Once they were both crawling, they became inseparable, wreaking havoc on all those immobile babies.

Unfortunately, Marcos moved on to a new daycare, but we managed to get them both back in touch.

Here's how it all looked:

Marcos and Quinn


The Birthday Boy


Graham, another daycare friend


Just Quinn


Quinn and Marcos, doing their usual toy "sharing" routine with a balloon

Bubbles don't taste good.

Quinn has been experimenting with drinking bathrwater lately. I tried to show him how to blow bubbles when he decides to randomly stick his face in the water (I used to teach swim lessons as a summer job) but he doesn't always get it right. Usually he just sticks his face in, inhales a bunch of soapy water, gets pissed off, then tries it again. About every tenth time does he actually blow out instead of suck in. He'll get it. Someday. Until then, he's making for some totally cute and funny pictures of bubble beards:

Easter Sunday

Eric was not as frightened by Quinn's stylish ensemble once he was dressed:



With Daddy:


With Mommy:


With poptop:


With poptop, Uncle Mike, and cousin James:


Here's cousin Kate:


We couldn't get Sophie or Brian to sit still long enough for a picture.

Just chillin with a bunny hat:

Wearing the green (for St Patrick's Day)

Quinn before school on St Paddy's Day:

The New House

I'm an idiot and somehow for got to take a picture of the exterior of the main house. but I'll get that up and I also kind of don't mind waiting until there are flowers and leaves and stuff after the winter gloom.

So here's what I've got:

Kitchen


Living room (sorry for the toy mess. It's just how it is.)


Powder room (very exciting)



Dining Room


Back steps


the "Barn" exterior


The Barn downstairs


The Barn upstairs (sorry it's so dark)

There would be some bedroom and office pictures but we haven't quite finished unpacking those rooms yet since we are dedicating much of our free time to getting the old house emptied and cleaned out.

Some moving day pictures:




Our movers: