90s Music

Sorry no new photos...camera battery is dead!!

Quinn's new favorite chill out activity is listening to me sing 90s songs on the 90s music channel on tv. She looks up at me and smiles, laughs, or cries (if I stop singing oddly enough...).

We are singing "walking on broken glass" now (and she's farting)...

No plans tonight. Dannie and Nate were going to come but they are under the weather.

Oooh, now Paula Cole....she reminds me of a party I once had in West Allis (Jill).... :)

Well, now to go grocery shopping!!!

Size 4 again?

Almost there!!!

With my decreased pain, visitors, and nice weather to help me increase my walking and activity, I'm down another 5# this week (only 20# from pre-pregnancy weight as I gained almost 50#). I put on my size 4 jeans today and ALMOST got them to fit comfortably!!!

YEAH PANTS OTHER THAN MATERNITY AND PJs!!!!!!!!!!

DATE NIGHT!!!

So, last night, I felt as officially "grown up" as this Christmas Tree.

Granny and Judy watched Quinn, and Mike treated me to...

a trip to the candy store and NBC store, a sighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller,

we ate a "Times Square" priced appetizer,

he bought me a hat,

and Mike managed to get us Orchestra seating the afternoon of the show on Broadway to see "Avenue Q"

(and what's the internet for??).

Why did I feel officially "old" you may be asking?? We were at dinner (about 2 hours after I left home) we sat down, and before I knew it I was asking Mike how much fun he thought Quinn, Granny, and Judy were having. A big "no-no" of actually having a night away from the baby!! I tried hard to not mention it much the rest of the night, but she was still on my mind.




Overall, it was a fabulous evening and we were glad we were able to get away for the night and allow Granny and Judy some quality time with Quinn. This is what we walked home to...




JUST WAIT until she's walking around...they'll really be wiped out after a night of babysitting!!!!

Thanks Granny, Judy and Mike for a great birthday present!! I had a wonderful evening.

Great Granny Arrived

After a few airport and in-air delays, Great Granny arrived on Friday night! She is absolutely taking in every moment with Quinn, and she has a special touch of love with her! Today, Great Granny and Grandma went with Mike to town to enjoy some shopping and food (most likely a lot of both!!). I plan on heading to downtown Dyker Heights to see if there are any good after-Christmas specials (of course I needed to blog first!!).

Grandpa Chuck Heads Home

Grandpa Chuck just left for the airport with Dad and Grandma Judy. Grandma Judy was getting dropped off to do some shopping at Kohl's, while Dad drove to the airport to drop off Grandpa Chuck and pick up Great Grandma Olinger. Grandma Judy and Great Granny will be here until Saturday to enjoy some time with Quinn...and maybe give Daddy and Mommy some time to get out for awhile!

Thanks for the great visit, Grandpa Chuck! Hope you enjoyed yourself! He navigated the city and subway system well, saw many parts of the city, and enjoyed some homecooked meals by yours truly. He is also the best at calming down screaming Quinn, so I will defintely miss that talent around the house during the day! He bought us a webcam, though, so maybe just talking to Quinn live via the webcam will be enough to calm her down when I need help during the day.

Christmas Day

We took a Michael Born family photo when we got home from midnight mass (at 1:45am!!).

Mike also took some photos of me releasing Quinn from the walking carrier after our walk home from church.

I snapped some photos of Quinn's first Christmas morning. There are about 25 shots similar to what is posted, each with a slightly different hand motion or face, but posted are the cutest!

Thanks to everyone who sent presents for our daughter. Grandma and Grandpa Rebarchik bought some great toys and cute outfits. Grandma and Grandpa Born bought some room decorations and a web cam (technically for Daddy to use, but will show live video with us and Quinn!!). Great Aunt Mary Kay sent an ornament and Gopher jogging suit (that will hopefully fit for next football/hockey season!!). Aunt Jen sent a jingle bell ornament. And Quinn opened many other presents last week from wonderful folks from Eagle Lake and Mankato! Thanks a ton, everyone! It was a great first Christmas as a family of three!! The Rebarchiks should be proud, as there were only five of us (including Quinn) and it took us almost 2 hours to open presents!

Also, we weren't able to get photos of the fun, but Grandma Rebarchik purchased light-up catnip balls for Eggo and Killer. THEY LOVE THEM! Eggo likes the fact that they light up and speed across the floor, Killer loves the catnip. SO, they're great toys for both of them! There aren't too many toys that they will both play with, so it's a good thing she bought two!!

Our Thanksgiving/Christmas Miracle

Mike and I both had some problems with gifts for each other this year. However, we still feel our Quinn Constance is the best gift and miracle we could have asked for this year. We had a busy year and we are thankful to finally be settling into some routines here in the "big apple". (Odd enough, I've had bigger apples in the midwest, but that's besides the point).


After our walk to the grocery store to get goodies for Christmas Day dinner, Quinn was making awesome "funny faces Friday" faces on Monday. This is the best one actually captured on "film". Quinn is sporting the Christmas outfit Grandma R. bought, complete with "My 1st Christmas" had and booties (the booties would be big on a 12-month old, but whatever). It is a newborn outfit, and it doesn't really fit her, but I had to get a photo anyway!! Thanks Grandma R.!!

Today's other photo comes from my attempt at making Eggo be close to Quinn to pick up her scent more and become a loving "big brother". As you can see, he stared at her for about 15 seconds as she was making noise and in his space on the chair, and boltd from the room rather upset that now the baby was taking his chair space too! Quinn didn't seem to like sharing the chair either and she told me the only way she knows how, with her wonderful voice box.

Overall, we're having a good Christmas so far. It was about 45 degrees and sunny today, with about a wind chill of 40/gusts to about 20mph. Tomorrow, we're looking at another sunny day, high temperature forcasted (from what I heard) was 47 degrees. What kind of Christmas weather is that?!?! Even though I comment on the weather, I can barely say I miss shoveling, bundling up in a million layers, or waiting 10 minutes for my car to warm up before I drive anywhere. The 30-50 degree weather, wearing a coat and maybe gloves, and walking to stores/the subway really is something else to be thankful for this year!

We're heading to midnight mass, and word on the street is that masses fill quickly! So, in order to get seats, we have about 45 minutes before we have to leave. I should start getting prepared for the walk and taking Quinn out again!

Also, there are plans to get Christmas cards out, they may end up being "happy 3-kings day" cards/birth announcements, but you'll all get a cute photo regardless. Thanks to everyone who has sent us holiday greetings! We love to get the updates and our shelf is overflowing with cards and photos.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

LOVE, Mike, Katie and Quinn

Christmas Wishes via Quinn-o-Vision 1.4

Quinn's Merry Christmas message to you, a present for us.

Trip to "the Big Island"

For Quinn's One Month birthday, we took our first big field trip. Mom and Dad bought me a "snugglie" for my birthday and we tested it out on our trip.

So we had our first subway ride today! All went well.

We walked Chinatown, ate some food, and walked to Ground Zero. Quinn had her first bottle since Grandma Rebarchik was here and she ate very well. I'm pretty full now, though! A few added ounces I'm carrying around! :) That's nothing compared to the few extra pounds Mike carried around with him for the day. Grandpa Chuck is taking video of us in the back ground of this photo.

I handled the walking pretty well. Took a few extra Advil, but I'm feeling okay so far (we'll see if that continues next week!!).

Only a few more days until our first Christmas in New York! Too bad there won't be snow. Last I heard we're expecting maybe 40's and sunny (seasonal chills here, remember!) :)

Quinn-o-vision 1.3

At least I think this is the third video posted....thanks for the title, Jill! Sorry most of it is the wrong way...you'll just have to tilt your head if you want to see it "properly". I don't have cool video editing ability yet.

Four Weeks

Sorry it's been a few days, I've become obsessive over getting my facebook stuff settled and reconnecting with friends.

Grandma and Grandpa Born arrived on Wednesday night and they are absolutely in love with Quinn! So much so, that Mike and I got about 5 hours of shopping and running errands done while they babysat for her. It was nice to get away for awhile, but I was tired and I started missing my baby girl!! It was the longest we had been further than 5 floors apart (hospital stay) in the last 10 months, so it was a big deal for me! We both survived--I walked in the door to a VERY hungry baby, so we had good timing for Quinn too.

I took some photos of her and the tree, but they're not the greatest. It's not so easy to take a good picture of a tree and baby, I decided. :) NOT my specialty, I guess! She is doing her "hands up in the air, wave 'em round like you just don't care" pose here. She's in a THREE MONTH old outfit here! My baby's growing up! There are a few newborn outfits that are already retired. I can't believe it.

Someone's hungry again...

Visitor 2000!!

Congratulations to visitor #2000 coming out of Rochester, Mn at 3:52pm EST today! I don't know who you are, I just know you're from Rochester and you've been on the blog for about 3 minutes! So, thanks for visiting, and come back soon! Maybe send a comment at the bottom of an entry and let us know who you are!!
Also, I've set up a facebook account; much due to the persistance from Jen. But, turns out most of my friends are on facebook too! So, that's another fun way to communicate with you all in "the outside world" per Jill's post on "my wall".
So, that is where I will be posting additional photos of Quinn, too (past what I show on the blog). Hopefully the link on the right will take you directly to her albums. We'll test that out.

Christmas Cutie

If that isn't the look of a heartbreaker, what is?

The tree has lights, but no ornaments yet--SO--no Quinn & tree photos yet. Instead of decorating the tree, we went grocery shopping. Tough trade-off, I know, but a girl's gotta eat sometimes too! And of course, we then watched the Vikings play football because we could! And they won!?! Those silly Bears didn't use their last time out. Guess they just wanted to let the game be over.

I took some cute photos anyway. The red and white outfit was mine when I was a little girl too (not that I was ever little being born at 11# and all...).

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Chuck come tomorrow already! Quinn's been practicing her crying for them...about 3 hours last night and another 2 hours this morning. I love the sound of that voice...

Today I quieted her down by going for a walk to the mailbox and bank. Really all I seem to need to do is put on her snow suit and put her in the car seat, and she'll zonk out. She's still out and it's about an hour late for her feeding time (as if she's really on a schedule yet). We'll save the quieting her down by giving her a bath for later tonight when it's 'cold' outside (it might be 34 degrees :) ).

I can't believe Christmas is next week! Cards will be out late this year!

I also can't believe how much Quinn has grown, changed and "unfolded" (she's not in the fetal position as much) in just the last week. Her month "birthday" is this weekend already! We've both come a long way in these past weeks. Regardless, the photo shows that she's almost as long as a pillow now!! Yes, it's a weird frame of reference, but most of the time I see her, she's lying on a pillow eating, so it's MY most common frame of reference to her growing. She was barely football size a few weeks ago when we were in the hospital. Time's flying by already!

She must have heard me type "late for feeding" as she seems ready to eat now!!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Also, my Godson, AJ (Alex Joseph) turns 2 years old already! He is getting so big before my eyes, I can only imagine how quickly it'll be to watch Quinn grow up too! I missed the party at the Brefka's yesterday, but Grandma R. was the hit of the party with the vacuum cleaner to purchased for him!

Mike and I can only hope Quinn likes to clean like that too, as we all know how much we like to clean!!

Seasonal Chill

I'm watching the news break on NBC...they just announced that a "seasonal chill" will be coming through town on Wednesday/Thursday after some light snow/rain. The temperatures listed were High: 41 Low: 30. I couldn't help but laugh out loud and figured it was a blog worthy entry. Does that seem seasonal to all y'all in Minnesota and Wisconsin where the real "seasonal chill" of about 10 degrees is hitting you!?

Off to decorate our tree!! We walked to the tree lot the other day (about 2 miles there and back and it was a seasonal 29 degrees) and got creative on how to get the tree home. Any guesses? My family can't answer yet as I told them the story already. Regardless, it felt AWESOME to get out of the house and get some exercise (even if I was sore for the next 12 hours). I've been stuck at the same weight now for 2 weeks...need to get those pounds off so my clothes fit again! I'm getting sick of wearing the sweat pants...and Mike's probably getting sick of seeing me in them!

Photos to be posted soon of Christmas Quinn and tree!!!

Video for Today

Well, this video was taken just a short 2 hours ago...since she's been awake and crying, so you are lucky to get to see the happy Quinn today! (Yes, I'm uploading video as she is crying because she's not settling down if I'm holding her or feeding her or changing her, so she's next to me crying while I get my blog posted and Christmas shopping done! I don't think she liked the pasta salad I ate for dinner last night and lunch today...)

Three Weeks ... Already ?!

Quinn turned three weeks old yesterday! Time flies when you spend your days feeding, eating, changing diapers, and trying to find time to sleep, cook, clean and do laundry -- and blog to keep you all updated on our lives!! I have no clue what day it is anymore or what the "outside world" is like. Hopefully we'll get to the corner today or tomorrow to get out of the house for awhile!

We got snow yesterday...about 1/2 inch (they got more about an hour north)! I don't know that we'll ever get more than that...of course it is only mid-December. It was raining and sleeting most of the day, which put a damper on my plans to take Quinn for her first walk to the corner pharmacy (as Mommy is out of Advil!!).

Regardless, we enjoyed the day of "playing", eating, and (as Dad found out last night) crying. Looking at lights is her favorite activity; I can't wait until our tree is up! Of course, we need a tree first...we're a little behind on that this year. Her second favorite activity is probably bath time. She would sit in water all day if I would let her (and if she could stay warm enough!). Her favorite part is the water splashing her face and back when I wash her hair...she actually fusses if I cover her eyes when I'm wetting her head! We spent about 15 minutes playing in the water yesterday.

Hope all is well with everyone else!

No Snow . . . But Hanging Out Inside Anyway

Well, another day of rain in Brooklyn. Unlike the Midwest, as it's snowy there! Above is a photo of my sister's (Claire) children making a snowman yesterday as schools were closed!


Here are some of Quinn's 9am looks...she's REALLY cute at that time of day. The rest of the day she's cute, but sleeping or crying. One of these days I'll post a video of her screaming so you can all enjoy that along with me. One of these days I will feel good enough to venture outside with her and go for a walk down the block. She likes movement and can see her enjoying the stroller and going for walks! Maybe we'll even get some snow so I can take some photos of a snow baby!


And for some video...spit-up-less (I think)...

We Still Love our Cats

We haven't posted photos of our kitties lately! They were the blog at the beginning, so let's give some lovin' to them today. They are still very much a part of our family, and here's how much they still love each other. We didn't even make them pose for this picture, they cuddled together so cute all by themselves.

Now, back to why most of you visit, Quinn time! Daddy likes to play the "what faces do you make when I touch your ear or cheek" game when Quinn is awake. Unfortunately, the camera isn't quick enough to catch most of the crazy faces. Also, I don't pretend to understand the enjoyment of this game for Mike or Quinn. BUT, it's bonding between Mike and Quinn, so I take the photos and love every minute!

Great Grandpa Born and Albina sent Quinn a warm pink and white afghan to welcome her to the world and to the family. We love it! Thanks a bunch! Great Grandpa B. is so proud of this little girl, hopefully we'll get a chance to meet soon! Our little girl is extremely lucky to have so many family and friends that love her so much. Again, your support means a ton!

We had a great time visiting with Dannie and Nate. We finally gave them their wedding gift we bought for them (bought it in June!!). Nate helped Mike break down the boxspring that has been in our dining room since we moved. It was the best birthday present! The room is so much bigger now!! A nice space for a plant shelf...I'll just have to find a shelf and get plants to put on it!

Also, Dannie gets photographed holding a baby (she really likes it when I use present tense when it's something that's happened already)!!

We had lunch and dinner delivered to the house yesterday. We learned that a grilled cheese with bacon should actually be called a triple decker BLT with cheese (we were trying to figure out why it was $7...then we saw the sandwich and said--OH, THAT'S why!).

Quinn's screaming for her lunch...until next time.....

Birthday

First off, for some reason the notes I posted on Wednesday stated I posted them on Monday--so, I'm sorry for any confusion that may have caused y'all! I'm not sure what happened there.

I can't believe it's my birthday already. As my first present, Mike fed Quinn for her 3am feeding! It was awesome...until she was still hungry after her bottle was gone. Mike brought her to me (so I didn't have to get out of the nice warm bed) so it was still awesome. I got almost 4 uninterrupted hours of sleep!! However, I was woken up today at about 7:30am (right after I fell asleep after Quinn's 6:30am feeding) by the sounds of construction outside--either someone is having housework done outside, or they are really decorating for Christmas. Either option is completely possible, as there are some outrageously decorated houses around here!

We're hoping to get out and find a tree this weekend. We will be having Mike's parents here for Christmas, so we have a reason to decorate the house (other than for the sheer pleasure of us getting to decorate, look at it for a few weeks, and take it all down again).

This photo to the left of the page--does that remind anyone else of Zoolander's look(s)?? Maybe I'm just sleep deprived, but I love this photo!

The only thing she really dislikes is being cold, these days. She loves her bath time, just not the times right before and right after being in the water. Once she realizes she's in the water, she's as happy as can be.

I took some video of Quinn the other day. The starting shot is not so hot, but she's showing her cuteness! (posted below)

Life at the Borns

This week, so far, has not been as difficult as I imagined. Quinn is awake more during the day...but is fussy. We had a peds appointment on Monday. The pediatrician talks really fast, but I caught what he was saying, "tummy time vaccinations no gassy foods call Wednesday see you in 6 weeks" with lots of words in between. For all of you who think I TALK FAST---you gotta meet this guy!! Most importantly, I found out that my diet needs to be MUCH more bland to help agree with Quinn's digestive tract. Basically, the foods I couldn't eat when I was pregnant because they didn't agree with me, I still can't eat (excessive dairy, chinese, italian, caffeine, soda, chocolate, and my fav veggies as they're gassy, etc). All things considered, she grew 1/2 inch and was up to 8 pounds 7 ounces on Monday; 75th percentile! Our little girl is growing up so fast.

I had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Sticco last night, too. I've lost 15# so far, a third of the way to my pre-pregnancy weight! The nurse and doc knew I was breastfeeding just by looking at me. The ab pain is finally starting to subside a little bit. Mike had me laughing last night so I was a little more sore, but no hard feelings. Also, my incision site is looking awesome and a scar should be minimal if anything! She did a really good job and I should be able to wear my bikini for years to come in the summer! THANKS DOC!

The cats still want nothing to do with Quinn. I've been feeling a little better and able to brush them and play once or twice daily, so they've enjoyed that time. We got out of their routine when the parents were here, so they're readjusting to life in the basement at night and only having me around during the day. They seem to be doing okay, they just really don't like it when Quinn is out of her bedroom! The crying doesn't seem to phase them much, or at all. If they're downstairs and she cries upstairs, they'll perk their ears towards her, but that's about it.
Overall, life is getting "back to normal" or getting to the "new normal". Making easy meals/reheating leftovers, helping with dishes, sweeping the floor (as the vaccuum is scary to me yet), playing with the kitties, and, most importantly, taking care of Quinn! I am anxious for the day I can walk the block to the mailbox, stores, etc, but that is at least a week away yet. Heck, I'm excited for the day I can walk the stairs without pain! I was picking up the house (mail build-up from two weeks mostly) today and found our other camera battery, so I'll try to get some photos of the darling today. Her double chin is slowly disappearing, her hair is still very dark, and she's just as adorable as ever.

We're also planning for visitors! Jim is in town for work and is stopping by to see Quinn today. Louis will be in town this weekend and offered to babysit if we want to go out for my birthday on Saturday. Last I knew, Dannie and Nate were also hoping to come visit at some point this weekend too. Lots of visitors, lots of fun!

It'll be nice to show off Quinn in person--can't wait to see you all!!

Excitement

Well, all sorts of excitement occurring today already!

We're getting our first snow, but NOTHING like what Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Chicago have seen (from what we can see on the weather channel).

Dad called at 2am today to let us know Mom's flight was cancelled. I woke up with Quinn at 5:30 and I was as hungry as she was, so I decided to double check status JUST IN CASE something changed (as Mom's co-workers and family in Wisconsin are anxious to have her home again). I checked the website and it said nothing about cancellation, so I woke up the rest of the house. After a few phone calls, one said the flight was cancelled. With different status reports, Mike and Mom are off to the airport about 30 minutes later than they wanted. It looks like just about everything in/out of Chicago is delayed/cancelled this morning. I'm guessing her flight is cancelled and I'll see them in about an hour. With the snow here, too, I'm not sure how on-time things will be running in the next hour. Maybe this is God's way of saying Mom's supposed to stay! She's ready to get back to her "real world" though. It's tough being away from home for 2 weeks...whether it is visiting grandbaby or not. Overall--good luck, Mom, if you need to rush to your gate!!

Quinn also decided she wants to sleep in only 2-hour blocks of time since yesterday afternoon. How happy was I that she decided to keep the routine through the night too?? I have a feeling I'll be napping today--especially since I'm relatively awake now and it's 6:30am!

Sneezing after a c-section--let's talk about excitement there!! The doctors stress how you should watch how you sit-up and lift (etc) to take care of the ab area after the section. They never tell you how much sneezing and coughing will hurt. I wish there was a medication for that too! Luckily the stinging pains in the abs and back only last a minute or two!

SO, I'm going to go back to my blanket and will probably watch a movie and wait for my husband and/maybe Mom to return home again. If I'm really lucky, I'll fall asleep again!! Probably just in time for Quinn's next feeding, but that's the life of a Mom!