Sunday, December 26, 2010

Good Times with Gammy

What a wonderful time we all had when Gammy came to visit!  She was SO helpful.  As if she were only 24 years old, Gammy slept on a blow up bed, took Halley and Quinn out for walks, and fed Quinn every three hours...both day and night!  Rich and I caught up on much needed sleep and were so grateful to have reinforcements!  Gammy even cooked dinner for us!  The best part was how obvious it was that Quinn loved her.  You could just tell by the way he looked into her eyes while she cooed at him.  I really loved looking at Quinn looking at Mom.  Mom--when are you coming back? We need you!!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Milk Monkey

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You

Great! The blog is working!  Thank you Christien and Grance for posting a comment and letting me know!  Now that we're in, I thought I'd just share a bit about who Quinn is and how he came into this world for both posterity and those who are interested. 

Quinn was finally born after C-section following two days of inducement.  From the very start he was bright-eyed and alert, but calm.  He was 8lbs, 0oz with a round head full of hair.  I was truly afraid to hold him at first because he just seemed so small and fragile.  After three days in the hospital, we brought him home in a little blue polka-dot outfit that Gammy gave him.  He was swimming in it.  That first week was a scary, miserably sleep-deprived period survived only because Nana and Gramps (Rich's parents, Eileen and Rick Casey) were there to help.  They shopped, they cooked, they cleaned, and they coddled--both baby and us! We were fortunate to have them. We were also fortunate to have two Kaiser nurses stop by our home to check in on us and the baby.  At that point, though he was named, we always referred to Quinn as "the baby".  Not sure why. 

Though we're told that babies should double their weight by the six month mark, Quinn is already nearly 13 pounds by this, his 11th week!  My little milk monkey.  Which brings me to his personality...my son...is a milk monkey! He loves to eat and does it often.  Whenever I take the bottle away, if only for a moment, he makes these little gremlinesque grunting sounds accompanied by fists outstretched before him as if to summon the milk gods to please, oh please, return that heavenly bottle to my mouth NOW!  It is like his drug.  Hence, milk monkey.  In the beginning, he was really cute too when we would wrap him tightly in the hospital receiving blankets.  Rich was especially good at this.  Great, really.  Quinn couldn't escape one of Rich's wraps if he tried.  Only Quinn's little (big, actually) head would stick out of the top with the rest of his body completely encased in the blanket.  We called him a "baby burrito".  We had a song to go with it, too. ..."You are my baby burrito---burrrrrittto!" This was sung in a Mexican accent with a grand rolling of the rrrr's.  After some time, we just started calling him "Senor B".  Again, with an exaggerated Mexican accent that was just so funny and sweet.  We still love that.  It's really so sweet to hear. 

Now, he just seems like a baby, rather than an infant, though those are probably the same.  The word 'baby' just sounds so much heartier.  Like he is established in the baby kingdom; not one of those newbie infants who know one knows will make it or not.  He is so happy and sweet and gentle and content.  He rarely cries and if he does, it is only for a moment to get something he wants--like milk.  He smiles a lot now, and it is one of those toothless, gummy, ear-to-ear smiles that drops you to your knees.  He tracks things and even looks at the pages of the books I read him.  He seems genuinely interested in the story.  Is that possible?  I also believe he is trying to sing!  Nearly every time I sing to him he starts to talk!  That is, he oohs and aahs and continues it for some time while looking into my eyes.  It's like he is trying to harmonize!! It is so cute.  I don't know how I know this, but I also think he has a good sense of humor.  He just seems to, especially when Rich interacts with him and gives him tummy or neck zerberts.  He LOVES his Daddy. 

Okay, enough for now.  I just wanted his family to get to know him a little so when you see him he won't just seem like another baby.  He is SO special.  I never knew I could love so much. Oh and by the way, he has already outgrown that blue and white coming home from the hospital polka-dot outfit.

Monday, November 29, 2010

My gorgeous son.

Welcome to the world, wee one.

My beautiful son, Quinn Collins Casey, was born on September 19, 2010.  And now, life truly begins.  For both of us.  Here it is, the day before I go back to work, and I have finally started this blog.  So, come along for the ride!  I promise to keep this site updated, if not as entertaining and high tech as his cousins'.  Let the fun begin...