Thursday, December 3, 2020

Quinnie Turns Three!

 Happy 3rd Birthday to Quinnie!

The many faces of Quinn!



We celebrated Quinn's birthday with multiple "threestas."
We had a very small friend party, a King party and a Barlow party.
I think she loved every minute of each celebration!






It's hard to believe another year has passed, and now Quinn is 3. She thinks she's going on 13 though. Some of the things that come out of that girl's mouth are unbelievable. She is hilarious! She's our little comedian. She can also be a little sassy. She never runs out of things to say, and she has never met a stranger. Of all of our kids, she has spent the most time in time out. She is sweet and spirited! And I just can't get enough of her! :)

At THREE years old, Quinn is still a great sleeper. She transitioned to a big girl bed at about 2.5 years  old. She stays in her bed for the most part, but every now and then you can hear her roaming around in her bedroom. She doesn't come out though, she just plays by herself and then puts herself back to bed when she's good and reasty She goes to bed around 7:30pm and wakes up in the morning around 7:00am. She is taking a daily afternoon nap from about 1:30-3:00pm. She is also a great eater, and is willing to try most foods. I'd say, she's the best eater of all of our kids. She still LOVES milk and water. Her favorite foods are strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, bananas with peanut butter, carrots with hummus, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, beans, peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, pizza, clif bars and lara bars, fruit snacks, peaches and applesauce! At her 3 year well child appointment, Quinn weighed 34 pounds and was 39 inches tall. She is wearing mostly 4T clothes, and size 8/9 shoes. 

The most important milestone this year was becoming potty trained. It is so nice to be down to just one child in diapers. I look forward to the day that I'm not changing diapers anymore! She has also become a little runner. She loves to get out of the stroller while we are out walking to "run to the next mailbox." She likes to dance, and she does this little performance which includes a plie, balancing on one leg, a couple of twirls, and a bow. It's pretty cute. She loves playing with Kylie and Brooks, but does not play independently very well yet. I hope that will come. She likes to play pretend, especially baking, family and babies. She loves to draw, write, and cut with the scissors. She recognizes and knows how to write the letter Q. She also recognizes the letters B and K. She draws smiley faces and the sun most frequently. She counts to 10, and knows all of her colors and shapes. She is very social and loves playing with her friends, Emme and Mer Mer, and her cousins. 

We love our Quinnie Girl so much!

Summer 2020

     When summer arrived and we realized that this pandemic was not soon going to be over, we started making plans for a fun, outdoor season. We spent a lot of time doing outdoor activities like golf, tennis, baseball and swimming. And we spent many weekends at our lake house. We are so grateful to have that lake house. It was a wonderful, slow, gorgeous summer!



Spending Memorial Day weekend at the lake is quickly becoming a beloved family tradition.

Brooks started a little computer programming. 

We visited the strawberry patch with friends.
L to R: Kylie, Bode, Meredith, Brooks, Halle, Quinn and Blair



We spent a lot of time at the pool!

Brooks did an at home nature camp. He learned how to start a fire, which made him so happy!

The big kids took some golf lessons.

We had a very happy 4th of July at the lake.





Quinnie's first drawing of people, I think.

Sweet baby boy!

We did a fun, socially distanced scavenger hunt around town.
This was through our church.
And we won all the marbles! :)

We learned that Bode has a strong reaction to mosquito bites on his face.
His bite swelled up to the size of a deck of cards.

That was nail polish and it was about an hour before our family pictures! 
Needless to say, I was not happy!

Kylie and Brooks took swimming lessons, and both moved up to the next level.
This Brooks was learning how to dive.

Spending some time with the Barlow cousins.
L to R: Espen with Freya, Elias, Kylie with Bode, Brooks, Bergen, and Quinn

We fed the geese at Silver Lake.


We played at lots of parks!

Bode became a full time walker.
He was the earliest Barlow walker at 14 months.

We went to Oxbow with friends.
L to R: Brooks, Liam and Bennett

L to R: Meredith, Emme and Quinn

L to R: Kylie, Annabelle and Halle

Quinn is always getting into mischief.

Bode had his first haircut!


We ran a virtual race.
This was the "Happy Birthday, Harry" 1mile run.


More lake days!


Kylie did a tennis camp with her friends.

I hosted "Camp Barlow."
The boys had a nature adventure.
The girls sewed blankets for their American Girl dolls.


We ended the summer break by hitting up the Minnesota Zoo with our King cousins.
L to R: Lydia, Brooks, Kylie, Quinn and Emmit.
Tori, Freyja and Bode were there too.

Cutie!

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Happy 1st Birthday, Bode!

Happy FIRST Birthday to Bode Jonathan!

On May 8th, Bode turned 1 year old! It has been the fastest, longest, weirdest year yet. We had a bit of a rough start, but Bode has become a sweet and happy baby! Although, quarantine has been rough for some of us, Bode has loved having everyone around and doting on him ALL the time. He loves being around his family, is slightly skeptical of strangers, and moves non stop! He crawls, cruises and climbs stairs at an alarmingly fast rate. He has to be watched closely these day. He transitioned seamlessly to the sippy cup and whole milk and loves a drink first thing in the morning and right before bed. He is a cute little peanut with a sweet smile and communicative eyes!

As for his current likes and dislikes, he loves his pacifiers (he currently sleeps with 8), playing with balls, being chased, sleeping, taking baths, being with his family, and playing outside. He also loves playing in the dishwasher, cabinets, and drawers. He dislikes being strapped in his stroller or car seat when not moving, not being allowed to go into rooms that are blocked, getting his diaper changed, and most vegetables.

Bode is still a great sleeper. He wakes up in the morning around 7:00am, and has a cup of milk. He also eats solid food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At 7:00pm, he goes down for the night after a cup of milk. He has officially moved into Brooks' room and is doing very well sharing with his brother!

Bode has recently reached some more milestones. He is crawling and cruising a lot. He has gotten very fast! He can climb up and loves to make his way up to the play room. He has started walking with his walker too. He has gotten much more vocal. He babbles a lot and makes the "dada" and "mama" and "baba" consonant sounds. He has started waving, more for bye than for hi. And my favorite, he clicks his tongue when he his hungry and is wanting to eat! :) He has 12 teeth including his molars. He's eating lots of baby food. He especially likes it in pouches. He's doing pretty well with table food too, though he seems to be boycotting vegetables. He seems to like chickpeas, sweet potatoes, cheerios, yogurt melts, mum mums, PB and J sandwiches, strawberries, bananas, grapes, yogurt, pizza, and chicken nuggets. He weighed 21 lbs, 3 ounces and was 30 inches long at his 12 month appointment, He's wearing size 12-18 month clothing and size 4 diapers.
 
Bode was so spoiled at his THREE birthday parties.
We tried to keep our circles separate from each other, so we had a Barlow party, a King party and a friend party!

He loves his cakes!

Some of his gifts: a new bike and a basketball hoop for the ball lover!

And his 11 month picture since I forgot to do an 11 month post!
Poor 4th child!

We love this sweet baby boy so much! Here's to another wonderful year!