Catch up on the last month

Quinn with Grandma and Grandpa Peter in California over Memorial Day.






Since my last post we visited California to visit friends and family for Whiffle Ball 2011 and Memorial Day. I was lucky enough to go to Huntington Beach with my sister-in-law Jenny, see my Grandma, visit my best friend Ange and meet her new little one Tessa (so cute!), as well as catch up with a lot of other friends at the Sartwell annual whiffle ball tournament. We also spent a lot of time with the Rockwell Grandparents and visited with Aunt Joyce (thanks for the statistics help!!!). All in all it was a very nice long weekend with family and friends.

Chris has been busy with a remodeling project on our bathroom. We used to have a combo shower/tub in our small master bathroom, but we (he) changed it out into a tiled shower with glass doors. I'll post the pic of the finished product. It was quite the project, but he did great for his first time basically building a shower! I really love it.

Finally, we are just hanging around the house with Quinn as we are pretty much homebodies. Enjoy the pics!

Playa Del Carmen

Sorry - this post is out of chronological order. Go to the Easter 2011 post for an Easter update.

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Eric and Jaime Sartwell wedding

Playacar Palace Hotel

Wedding on the beach!

Dressed up for the festivities

Dressed down for the....Caribbean ;)

View from my pool chair

Relaxing by the pool - Chris hating my photo ops

Chris and I were fortunate enough to go to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico (near Cancun) for our dear friend's wedding and to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. Quinn stayed home and was entertained, spoiled, and loved by her Grandma and Grandpa Rockwell. It was our first vacation away together since our honeymoon.

I can't believe, though, that this June will mark a total of 10 years that Chris and I have been together. It seems like yesterday that we met at Ryan Owen's apartment in Arcadia, Calif. (thanks, Dorothy!) and immediately had a connection (Bachelor show speak ;) ). Our first date happened the very next evening and we have been together ever since. However, the wedding we were in Mexico to witness was between a couple that had been together even longer (12 years?) and they were FINALLY tying the knot. We love Eric and Jaime and are so happy for them to begin their life as a married couple.

Easter 2011

I marvel at how FAST the last year has gone. Thinking back to how much of a "baby" Quinn was at Easter last year and how she is much more a "little girl" now. (See below)

2010

2011

I mean, she wasn't even caring that Easter eggs were filled with candy - and now she shakes the egg to determine if it is worth her while. She of course had a new Easter dress and unfortunately toddler hair (translation: she will not sit still so her mother is happy to have some sort of rubber band in it and a comb may have touched it), and was wearing spring-worthy white shoes.

She had a lot of fun running around with the boys (Andrew, Levi, Steven, and Benj), and even more fun stuffing her face with various chocolate candies. At one point she enlisted Rhiannon's help because her mouth was too full (contents: 8 m&m's, 2 jelly beans).

Quinn and Benj getting their fill of candy

We were blessed today with lovely sunshine and warm enough weather to stay outside for a bit. Perfect! Our menu for Easter also was especially delicious: ham, booyah potatoes (ask for the recipe...they are AMAZING - thanks Carly!!), fruit salad, green bean casserole, and rolls. For dessert a strawberry pie and Cool Whip.

Easter decorations - fun placemats and table runner.

The "egg hunting" crew

What a great way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! We are so thankful for our Spokane family. :)

Cutest video ever...until the next one

This video will give you an idea of what life with Quinn is like: try to climb something/try new things, give us an update on how it is going, dance. Yep, that sums it up! ;)

Enjoy!

Surprise pajamas

In true 18 month-old style, Quinn has been practicing how to dress herself - and on more than one occasion we have gotten her up from a nap and she was not wearing what we laid her down in! Another part of this is when she can't get her pj off...she must be exploring what else she can do with the items at her disposal during a nap.

Snapshots

Quinn loves to be swung around. She has a blast with Mommy and Daddy!

"Hey Quinn, I think you have a hair pick stuck in your pony tail."

Bath time is fun.

Family photo op after Quinn's baptism on Nov. 28, 2010.

Blue eyes!
The BEST of friends...she adores her Daddy. :)

If it has been quiet in the house...go looking for Quinn and you will find her sitting in the chair in her room, "reading" a book and snuggling with her blankie.

It's been a while

So...dear friends and family...it has been over a year since I posted to my poor, neglected blog. I've decided it is time to get back on the wagon and start posting! Also, we still have a lot of family and friends that are far away and not able to experience our life with us - or at least enjoy watching Quinn's antics in person. Thank you, Mom and Dad Van Dam for the FlipVideo this Christmas, it is just the thing that has re-ignited my energy to post. Also, I don't have any videos of myself growing up and I would like to have some to show Quinn so this is a good excuse to compile a small library of videos for Quinn and include the grandparents in the life of their first granddaughter. We love you all. :)

Say Grandma

Quinn has been getting better and better at talking. She repeats our words constantly (uh oh...Daddy better start watching his language!) and of course understands everything. I love that she nods in agreement more than shaking her head "no". Her sweet voice will get you every time!

Rub-a-dub-dub

Quinn is a big fan of the bathtub. We thought we would capture a bit of it for you! And unfortunately she does frequently try to drink the water. Gross, I know.

Riding lessons

My boss, Dori, gave us a rocking horse her boys played with when they were little. This is one of Quinn's first times on the horse! Check it out.