When Quinn babysits...

Tired girl goes to Swiss Days,
eats,
gets super hot,
comes home,
and take a big nap.
Oh- so did Annie.

My mom bought Annie this swing to keep at their house.
The way Annie crashes in it all day you'd think it was a lazy boy or something.

This is my dress.
I wore it to my Aunt Michelle's wedding 30 years ago.
Annie wore it to church last Sunday.

Sunday Annie wore this splurge to dinner at my parents'.
We went on a big fat walk and looked at houses.
My mom showed Annie off to a few of her neighbors.

Annie in her sling.
Snug as a bug...

Mom's swing was such a hit with Annie that I bought one for our house.
Too bad it only took one day for it to make a weird noise when it swings.
Crud.
What do I do now?

Here's Annie's Camera eyes.
I try not to use the flash too many times.

I was trying to catch her awesome smile in a photograph.

Happy October.
This is Annie's "scary" pose.

So I was at the bank getting a loan to buy a new house.
Little did I know the following was happening at home.
I walk in the door only to hear,
"QUICK! COME HERE! WE'RE IN THE BATHROOM!"
In I run to find THIS:

Apparently Annie had a major blowout and SOMEHOW it ended up
in her hair
on her face
in the footsies of her cute Halloween pjs
and everywhere in between.
Q, not knowing what to do next, immediately stripped her down
and started hosing her off [so to speak] under the tub faucet.
Annie was loving it.

I guess this is what happens when Quinn babysits.

Tonight we visited my Grandpa Metcalf for his 83rd birthday.
Good thing too because Kris made a pumpkin cake with brown sugar whipping cream icing.

...And THIS is what it looks like to watch my family hold Annie.

...Totally worth the price of admission.

Annie and I are off to Lake Powell.
See you next week.

Were/Are you a nanny?

A friend of a friend of mine wants to be a nanny back East and needs help finding a family. Do you have any tips? Agency ideas? I can't remember the agency I went through so I'm no help to her. Leave a comment if you have some ideas. Thx.

401k no more

Today I stopped contributing to my 401k.
Don't tell Dave Ramsey.
My employer still contributes regardless {they don't match deductions}.
...and we still have Q's 401k.
Mistake?
Think of all the stuff I can buy for Annie now.

Just kidding.
I simply want my go of handling it.
I think I can do a better job than some one else's pick of mutual funds.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Last Week We Did This

I could not even handle my excitement. A friend of mine {Erika Loveland} once asked me how I managed to have any fun without kids. She said that everything [holidays, events, life] was SO MUCH more thrilling with kids. I did not believe her one bit.
I was wrong.
PARADES are SO much more fun with kids... well 1. A baby.
Even watching Studio 5 in the morning is better with Annie.

After the parade, we walked to 25 Main where Q took us out to lunch and the entire cafe ooed and awed over cute Annie while she smiled at everyone.
We couldn't get over how yuppy we are now because we can't help but soak it all up with a hideously cliche proud parent face.

Annie loves to stretch when I unwrap her in the morning. It is SO funny!
It usually takes 20 minutes of grunting and serious stretching before she's ready to face the day.
She loves it and smiles in between furrowed concentrating eyebrows.

This is my cradle. I slept in it when I was a baby and now Annie does too. She has graduated from the Pram. I love how when she fusses at 2am, I just stick out my toe and give the thing a small heave to get it swinging so she can go to sleep. Most of the time my head never leaves the pillow! Q refinished it and his mom made new bedding out of fabric I chose {and disgusted my mother with- she hates my fabric choices}.

We call her Annie Bird because she makes little birdie mouths when she is hungry. She'll do that for the longest time before {if ever} she cries when she is hungry. I bought her this onesie because it has little birdies on it.

Here she is all wrapped tight for the night.
She gets in thing thing and puts out all sort of pensive looks
like she's contemplating the vast mysteries of the universe or something.

Yesterday Annie took her first ever nap in her new crib.
She looks so small in this thing but when I hold her she feels so much bigger than 8 weeks ago.

Here are some terrific Annie shots to leave you feeling optimistic about life in general: