Halloween, Climbing the stairs, Blood Tests and Daycare take their toll! Also 3D Ultrasound

Quinn had a busy last couple weeks and it finally caught up with her. The blood tests were a lot to absorb, then mastering the climbing of the stairs, then the excitement of Halloween, and then finally the first week of Daycare. She started being a little off on the Sunday before Daycare but we just thought she was tired. Needless to say by Wednesday she was not herself at all.

Thursday she had a fever of 102 and was pretty much shutdown from doing anything. We took her to the doctor and she has tonsillitis. It is about 6 months since she had Strep throat. Because of the difficulty swallowing solid food she has been on a pudding and yogurt diet for about 3 days. She was really worn on on Friday and would spontaneously lay down and rest. The picture below shows how she just in mid crawl lay down for a break. Sometimes even fall asleep. At daycare they told us they were all practicing for a concert and she was laying down in the middle of everything sleeping.

It has been a tough couple of days and some quality time with her momma on Friday went a long way to making her feel better. Today was the first day we can see the old Quinn come back. In fact she climbed the ottoman for the first time. Yesterday she was really giving it a try and we showed her the mechanics to make it happen and then today she got it. Now it is her thing to do and we love it. Again she hasn't fully figured out the getting down backward. Here is a picture of her after she conquered the ottoman!

This morning we had some Baby Brelan v2.0 time (yes that is the name we are going with until they are here). We had the 3D ultrasound. It is amazing how we see so much of Quinn in the new baby. Here is one picture and the rest are posted on http://www.brelan.ca/ (the website was rearranged to accommodate v2.0)

Quinn's Second Halloween - Our little Turtle!

2008 Halloween pictures posted on www.brelan.ca

Trauma for your Mama

We took Quinn today for her first observed morning at daycare. Brenda and I sat and watched everything they did. There sure are some crazy kids out there! Quinn just did her own thing and didn't pay much attention to anything else going on. She made some appearances to puppet time and story time and observed all else from a far. She also decided she was going leverage her method of climbing the stairs to everything she could touch! We hear that it is common for kids to play independently when they start daycare, but I don't think they understand what a truly "on her own" kid Quinn is. There is some silly municipal or provincial rule that says that all children at daycare must go outside.... I hear that the limit is minus 20 degrees. How crazy is that? Needless to say they get the kids out there and get them back in as quickly as possible and it is usually the adults that are freezing. At creative time they made some art to take home for Halloween. As you can see Quinn decided to combine this activity with her first meal at daycare!! (check the bottom right corner)
After those 2 hours we had to make an appearance back at the hospital to get more blood taken from Quinn! I guess the 10 viles previously weren't enough. Actually a couple samples showed some abnormalities that often can be attributed by the state of the child when the blood was taken. They asked us if we had to hold her down. I said that sometimes we have to hold her mom down to take her blood so what do you think? We can't bribe Quinn with bread and cheese! So you would think this time would be a walk in the park... oh no.. it can't be that easy. This time was actually more traumatic for little Quinn. It was probably a combination of the daycare in the morning, it was around her lunch time and she didn't sleep great last night. Needless to say I carried her out after it was done because she was so traumatized and had a hard time settling herself back down.

For us, the blood wasn't the most traumatic thing. It was getting the urine sample. You would think that this is such an easy thing. They put a bag on and you get the urine collected. Well after about 7 bags and 3 nurses trying (4 if you count Brenda), and we had less than 5ml to show for it. So, like the last time, they gave us all the gear to take home to give it a try. We waited around the hospital for almost 2 hours and Quinn peed quite a bit, too bad none of it made it into the bag. We will see how it goes for us tonight. We are armed with tape as well!

Sometimes with all this stuff the three of us are going through you just have to laugh. For example, today I had to attend a very important conference call from the hospital. So I am on the phone at the hospital, talking to one of the banks board of directors, while I am waiting for my daughter to pee in a bag. It has been an interesting ride thus far.

The icing on the cake for today was that we had to rush out of the hospital for us to make an appointment for Quinn's little brother/sister. We were a little late and could only think how Quinn is stealing this baby's thunder before they are even here!!!

The picture below is of Quinn halfway up the stairs. She always stops there to have a look back to ensure people are witnessing her triumph!

Expanding Quinn's Social Circle

Lots of stuff going on in the last week or so. Quinn will be making her appearance at daycare in the first week of November. That will be quite the adjustment for all of us. We think that we will be more impacted than her.

This week she had to get some blood taken for some tests. Yeah, more tests, more hospitals, more doctors. Poor kid isn't getting the easiest ride. However, this time the blood had to be taken from Credit Valley Hospital where she hasn't had blood taken before. All the nurses to this point have had a terrible time finding a vein on Quinn and most times it takes 3-5 blown veins before they get it. Needless to say we were very anxious to get her blood taken. Once we got the requisitions we realized that she needed 10 viles of blood taken. 10 VILES!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!???!!!! The nurses in the lab even commented that the doctor is crazy ordering that much blood from a kid under 2.

So I sat down with Quinn on my lap and her mom holding her head. I had a bear hug on her and to the credit of the lab staff they hit her vein on the first shot. The blood was flowing until Quinn got the idea she really wanted to get the heck outta there and wiggled the needle free. Blood splattered around... which really brought back eerie memories of the day she was born. Anyways, I had to lock down my hold even more and they went after the other arm. They hit it on the first try again... man these nurses are good. I guess this is there thing so they get good at it! Quinn screamed for pretty much all of it and I broke a sweat trying to keep her still. Both nurses couldn't believe how strong she was.... I had the beads of sweat to prove it!! Once the blood was taken we got outta there and Quinn wasn't the worse for wear. She is really good at bouncing back.

Yesterday she made her way up the whole staircase by herself. She also took the time on her ascent to stop and wave to us below. Then when she got to the top she was so proud of herself. But not half as proud as we are of her. She had always made us take her up the stairs to see the upstairs and I guess we weren't cutting it so she decided to take it on herself to make the trek. The next step is to get her to figure out how to get down. She is trying the crawling head first method and it isn't the safest way, but might be the quickest!! Most kids usually go down on their bum but knowing Quinn we might have more success showing her the proper way to come down from an ergonomic standpoint.

This morning, in preparation of going to daycare, we decided to both go to the gym and drop Quinn off at their child area. We both rationalized that these types of places must have some sort of regulation and were worried that Quinn would be allowed to roam anywhere and we might see her doing some squats on the Smith machine... because she does have extremely strong quads!!! As you can see from the picture below Quinn didn't have any reservation of going, not only that, she wanted to prove to us that she was independent and decided she didn't need her father's hand to take in the views of the kitchen. As you can see in the picture she was quited geared up for her gym adventure.

Once we got to the gym it became glaringly obvious that these places are in fact not regulated. There were about 15 kids and one poor girl trying to lay down the law. After we dropped her off we realized that today the monitors that show the child care area were not working... figures. Anyways we bolted through our workout and took the time between muscle groups to look in on her. She was happy as a clam and you would think she was in her living room playing. Not one tear. Not one look that she wasn't totally comfortable. When we picked her up she was happy to see us and we headed out. Mission Accomplished!

Our Pumpkin in the Pumpkin Patch!!

We made the trek out to Downey's market today just north of Brampton. It was crazy busy there but it is now our 2nd Annual visit. Last year we took Quinn and so we decided to take her again this year. As you can see it was just a crazy scene with their own OPP officer.

We sampled the fresh pumkin donuts and looked over some of the great pies, breads and other baked goods that they offer. This year Quinn was a lot more aware of the stuff around her and was not as amused with being among the pumpkins. It is a drastic difference from just one year ago. She was not having being around those things, much less touching them for more than 2 seconds! You can see from the two pictures how she has changed in just 12 months.... both in her physical appearance and her personality!! The first picture is 2007 and the second is today!

Weddings and Thanksgiving

Both Sinead and Aisling are now married. They were two great weddings that we were all happy to be a part of. Both were great nights and Quinn worked the room at both ceremonies. The first picture is from Aislings and the second is from Sineads. In the picture from Sinead and Radu's wedding you can see her sensible shoes make an appearance... We think it works well with the outfit!!

This past Thanksgiving we were lucky enough to take part in 2 turkey dinners. One in London and one in Brampton. What this means is that we probably over ate twice and we also had Quinn in 2 separate super cute outfits. The first picture is from London Thanksgiving and the second is from Brampton.

In parting I would like to just update the status of how the Wii Fit is going. So I (Milan) have used it quite a bit and the exercises are both fun and challenging. The last time I actually used it I had to change into almost full out work out clothes. They did a great job building something that was appealing to both experienced work out people as well as novices. Some of the exercises I have ranked at the top (Bodybuilder or Cardio Incinerator), while others I have not had such a glowing title (unbalanced or amateur). The one thing that they didn't really advertise for the Wii Fit is the fun that everyone can have watching other people do silly exercises. YouTube has taken this role but I think there is a marketing campaign in there somewhere!!!

Getting Fit at the TIFF....

This past weekend we did our annual trip to the Toronto International Film Festival. Quinn got to spend the day with her Aaji and Aaja and we went downtown, had a nice lunch, and then saw 2 movies. Both movies we got in good places in the line and got good seats. Realistically though, the TIFF does a good job of picking venues where there really isn't a bad seat in the house. That being said, Brenda is partial to sitting near the "Reserved" section just in case some big stars show up. This year we saw our movies on the last weekend and most of the stars had already bolted out of Toronto. We both thought that we would have a lot of respect for the stars if they actually went to all their screenings and not just the gala opening. Anyways, we digress.....


The first movie we saw was RocknRolla. It was a Guy Ritchie film and was the type of classic that he has been known for. It is a movie along the same vein as Snatch and Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels. There were a few points in the movie that we both actually laughed out loud. Gerard Butler ("This is SPARTA") was in it and he did a great job.

The second movie we saw was More Than a Game. It was a documentary about an all black high school basketball team in a privileged predominantly white school. One of the real draws to the movie is that one of the baskteball players on the team is LeBron James. So it is very interesting to see how the media started coming into their lives and how things changed. However, they did a great job of not making that the focus and make it more about the friendships. It was also interesting that the black players were all friends from when they were young and all stuck together when one of them wanted to go to the predominantly white school. There were lots of heartfelt moments and it was a really interesting story.

On our way out of the second movie at the AMC at Yonge/Dundas square we walked by a very busy Future Shop and just happened to see a staff member carrying a Wii Fit. We have been thinking about getting one for a while but they aren't the easiest things to track down. Up until now we have just been dropping in stores when we were walking by to check. Well we saw a staff member with one and decided to drop in. The display was empty so we figured they were sold out but Brenda asked the staff member if they have any more and he quietly mentioned that "Yes, there are a few in the back". Needless to say we got one and got the heck out of there. All in all a great day and when we went to pick up Quinn she had nothing but smiles for us.... probably because she just took a couple chomps out of Aaji's arm!!

Quinn's New Kicks

We have had a busy last couple weeks with a lot going on. Lucky for us we had 2 great weddings along the way to attend and enjoy ourselves at.

Quinn got her first taste as a flower girl at her Aisling Mosi and Jay Mosa's wedding. She was amazing and walked up the aisle holding our hands just taking it all in. She was handing out smiles left and right like she was the little Queen of England.

Once at the front of the church she wanted to continue touring and really gave her dad a workout as some of the pictures no doubt show... sweat on the brow!

This weekend we are taking in the Film Festival. 2 Movies in 1 day!! Yes we are crazy. We started going a couple of years ago and really enjoy getting out there and seeing some great movies. This year both the movies we are seeing are actually highly publicized. Usually we get movies that are more of hidden gems. Kanch usually helps us out with getting the tickets and making the selections.

We picked up Quinn's new kicks. By the look on her face we think she likes them although styles were limited we think she is working it just fine.... for a construction site!! She will get a chance to dress them all up at her Nead mosi's wedding in October. Can you picture them with a beautiful white dress? If you can't we will have pics in about 3 weeks! It is funny that Quinn's shoes are more expensive than any pair of shoes we have ever owned... but I guess that is what being a parent is all about!

Alaskan Cruise

We all just returned late Sunday from our first cruise which was to Alaska.

We saw things that we all have never seen before and sights that would just make you stare in awe.

Quinn loved spending the week on the boat with her parents and her aaji and aaja. We had a moment standing on the top deck with mountains and glaciers around, we realized that Quinn will never remember the amazing things she has seen. Luckily we have a lot of pictures and video to show her.

New pictures posted at http://www.brelan.ca/

Early Rising, Graduation, and Pedicures

Quinn still is an early riser. She goes to bed anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 but is usually up sometime between 5:00am and 6:00am. The good thing is that she really isn't looking for us to do anything for her. The bad thing is that she likes to talk and she likes to talk loud!!! We would like to be upset with her for comprimising our sleep but when we go in her room and see this... how can we possibly be angry??

A couple of weeks ago after some hard work and lots of studying Sinead graduated! She got her degree and is now off to face lifes challenges.... which could include some more school! It was a happy day for the whole extended Bedford clan.

My birthday is coming and Brenda decided to have a fun day on Saturday. It was a spa day at Novo spa in Yorkville, a nice lunch at the spa, a move in the afternoon and our annual visit to Tony Roma's in the evening. It was a great day all around. It was also my first pedicure experience. Let me just say that is was interesting. The other 2 treatments I had, a massage and a herbal wrap, were a lot more of the traditional relax thing. The pedicure was a whole other animal. I wouldn't say it was painful and I wouldn't say it was uncomfortable. I couldn't bring myself to actually look at the work that the lady was doing. She had a wide array of tools and I had no interest in what exactly was happening. I did enjoy the massage chairs and the foot bath. I also really enjoyed the final product as you can see they turned out pretty good. If you couldn't figure it out, my foot is the one without the nail polish!

Margarita Island

New pictures from our trip to Margarita Island are on the website:

www.brelan.ca

Quinn meet Personality... Personality meet Quinn

As we close in on Quinn's 1 year anniversary we look back on where we have come from. The late nights celebrating if Quinn drinks more than 1 oz. The trips to the doctor and all the tests. All the other fun stuff of being a first time parent.

Now Quinn gets to where she REALLY wants to go. We say that because she always gives it a long thought before putting in the effort to make the move. If it isn't worth it then she moves on to the next important thing. For those of you that know, she is quite the little thinker. She isn't the type to just do things arbitrarily, there is always thought involved! One of our friends recently said Quinn sure has grown into her little personality. That she has. She now has all the personalities to go with her variety of faces.

Our whole household is actively awaiting a wedding later this month. Not that we live for weddings, but this wedding is in Margarita Island. There will be a whole mess of firsts for this trip. As part of the rigour of travelling, Quinn received her first passport. We thought the picture would be a bit of an affair but surprisingly the government likes the look of "Who the hell are you" for their passport pictures as you can see below, so we were in and out in 10 minutes!

Where has the time gone....

As we now sit back and think that little Quinn is now 10 months it absolutely blows our mind. We have been through 8 teeth (the molars are still causing havoc), more than our fair share of colds, a stomach flu, and moving from an infant seat to a car seat, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Quinn continues to show us new interesting personality traits and reminds us that she is going to be quite the adventure as a little toddler. Her stubbornness to do her thing and do things her way really makes us cringe when we think about the temper tantrums that await us. Nevertheless we are loving every minute of it.

More pictures have been posted on www.brelan.ca