Sunday, February 24, 2019

Quinn is 18 Months!

Quinnie Boo is 18 months old!


It's hard to believe this sweet and sassy little girl has been in ours lives for 18 months already...and in just 3 short months, she is going to be a big sister. She definitely still feels like our baby! Quinn is mostly sweet. She loves to cuddle, socialize, and wave at people. But she has a sassy streak too. Her favorite word is "no," and when she wants to throw a tantrum, she can really throw a tantrum. Thankfully, they are few and far between. We love her toothy grin, her funny personality, and sweet hugs!

At 18 months old, Quinn is still sleeping well.  She goes to bed around 7:15-7:30pm and wakes up in the morning around 7:00-7:30am. She is taking one daily afternoon nap from about 1:30-4:00pm. She eats pretty much anything and everything, but I have noticed that she gets bored if I repeat foods too often. For example, she used to love bananas, so I gave them to her everyday for breakfast and now she won't touch them. She eats 3 meals per day, and would snack and drink water endlessly if I let her. She LOVES water! She also drinks about 12-16 oz. of whole milk each day, half in the morning and half in the evening before bed. Her favorite foods are avocados, strawberries, sweet potatoes, beans, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pizza, clif bars, lara bars, and of course, whole milk and water! Her least favorite foods right now are bananas, and anything else that I have overfed her with. At her 18 month well child appointment, Quinn weighed 25 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 33 inches long. I didn't catch her percentile for weight, but her height was in the 85th percentile. She is wearing 18-24 month clothes, size 5 diapers, and size 4/5 shoes. 

Some of her most recent milestones and accomplishments include walking and talking! YAY! She started full time walking in December, around 16 months old. Pretty average for a Barlow baby! She is saying several words, probably 30 consistently, and will attempt to say almost anything we ask her. Some of her most common words are, "mama, dada, daddy, hi, hello, thank you (tank oo), bar (arrr), yes, fish, (eesh), love you (ug oo), uh oh, no, poo poo, please (pees), snow (no), and boo." She also uses signs for, "more, milk, water, all done, and help." And she knows several body parts including, belly button, nose, ears, eyes, tongue, hair, and toes. She continues to grow teeth at the fastest rate of any baby I know. She has 14, going on 16 teeth! It makes for a pretty cute smile! Lastly, she loves to mimic her older siblings. Her favorite thing to copy right now is doing homework. When they are working on math or reading, she will often pull out a workbook and pencil and start writing in it alongside them. It's adorable!

Doing her "homework."

We couldn't love this little girl more! She is a blessing and a joy! Love you, Quinnie!

YuBaCa Friendscation 2019!

After a week of subzero temperatures and 4 school snow days in a row (from cold), we left the polar north and headed south to Orlando with our friends, the Camps and Yuans. The first week in February in 70-80 degree temperatures felt like a dream and was a much needed escape. We rented a 6 bedroom theme house and spent 3 days enjoying the parks and 3 days laying low and relaxing. The week flew by and we can't wait to do it again in 2022!

Full of excitement upon arrival at the Orlando airport. 
We were 6 adults and 9 kids...quite the circus!

L to R: Kylie, Annabelle, Blair, Halle, Brooks and Bennett

We spent the first afternoon and next full day preparing for the week and getting acquainted to our surroundings. We went grocery shopping, swam a lot, and just enjoyed the Florida weather!

The Hart family (our besties from Columbus) were on the tail end of their Disney vacation on our first full day there. We drove over to there resort to spend a quick hour with them!
Phil and Jon in front.
Brooks, Claire, Kylie and Annie in back.

Claire, Quinn and Brooks.

Reunited!

On Monday, we hit up our first park(s).
We went to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
This was so we could do ALL of Harry Potter World, and do it we did!
I think the older kids and adults loved it!

Bennett perfectly captured everyone's excitement!
L to R: Bennett, Brooks, Blair, Kylie, Annabelle, and Halle

The Night Bus!

Kylie and Brooks in Diagon Alley!

Jon, Brooks and Bennett on the Gringotts rollercoaster.

The biggest downside to Universal is that there are very few rides that toddlers can do (as opposed to Disney), but this is one she could ride! She loved it!

Brooks and Bennett

The dads took the older kids on rides, while the moms (two of whom are pregnant) hung out with the toddlers.
Here they are on a Jurassic Park ride.

After a long day on Monday, we decided to do it all again on Tuesday! :)
This time we went to Magic Kingdom.
It was another fun-filled day!

The whole group in our matching YuBaCa 2019 Friendscation t-shirts.

Our little family.

Jon as Minnie Mouse and sweet Kylie.

Quinn was able to do many more rides at Magic Kingdom and she enjoyed them all!
Here she is riding Prince Charming's Carousel.

Three sweet 8 year olds.
Annabelle, Halle and Kylie

My boy!

Quinnie Boo.

The kids loved spending all day every day together.
The girls were inseparable.

Jon and Brooks on the Dumbo ride.

Quinn on the Teacups.

Barlows and Yuans on It's a Small World.

On Wednesday, we rested.
We spent the day at the house and did a lot of swimming and snacking! :)

But Thursday, we were up for one last adventure.
We went to Animal Kingdom, which was Brooks' favorite.
We arrived an hour early, and were able to ride the Avatar ride with just a 30 minute wait.
By the time the park actually opened, there was a 3 hour wait!
So glad we got there early!

We saw the Lion King show, which was fantastic.

We also saw lots of animals, rode some more rides - Mt. Everest rollercoaster, the Safaris, and a few others. It was a really warm day, and just felt good to be outside.

Finally a picture of the moms and little ones.
L to R: Kristen with Meredith, Erica with Emme, and me with Quinn.

And the big kids in front of the Tree of Life.
L to R: Brooks, Kylie, Halle, Annabelle, Blair and Bennett

And on Friday, we rested again. We spent the day in the pool, and in the evening the 6 adults went out for dinner. Saturday morning, we headed back up to the frozen tundra. The week flew by, but the memories will last a lifetime!


Winter Days!

Winter started out slow and warm. I wondered if it was just going to be one of those more mild years. Then the middle of January rolled in and with it came a very angry Father Winter. We have had days with -50 windchills, many snow storms, and 8 snow days...and it's only February. But life keeps going, and here's what we've been up to lately...

Prom pose!
Orthopedic Department annual holiday party.

Lots of skiing this year.
Kylie and Halle.

Brooks and Jon.

Twinning sisters!

Brooks' kindergarten classes performed The Gingerbread Man.

Kylie had her first piano performance.
She played "Joy to the World" at her piano teacher's church.

Quinn and Emme shopping at Target.

Baby Boy Barlow!
Due May 24th!

We went to Annie with the Camps and Yuans.
Our friend, Mark Morrey and his daughter, Shea, were the stars of the show!

The adult Barlows saw "Elf the Musical" at the Ordway.

We rode the Jolly Trolley around Rochester.

We sang Christmas carols at a nursing home in Rochester with friends.
This was a fun event organized by our friends, the Sviggums.

We saw the "real" Santa!

Barlow baking day!



Christmas at the Kings.
Quinn got a new car!

Brooks' favorite shirt of the season!

Merry Christmas 2018!

Matching Barlow cousins!

Kylie and Brooks' gingerbread houses.

We spend New Year's Eve alone. 
Kylie and Quinn both had a stomach bug. :(

Meanwhile, Jon was at the Rose Bowl!
Go Buckeyes!

New bathrobes from G&G Barlow.

Sweet Quinn.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Brooks' reindeer creation.

Climber baby!

We went bowling with the Ortho Trauma Team and their families!

Ring around the rosey.

One of many snow days!

Quinn likes to mimic Kylie and Brooks.
One of her recent favorite activities is doing homework.

Happy Valentine's Day from our little loves!