Quincy's First Trip

This past weekend, Solon, Quincy and I boarded a plane for Seattle, to visit Solon's mom & Tony who just moved there for their jobs. Quincy was dressed appropriately for the Southwest flight, in his little airplane onesie that my friend Merrily gave us. Quincy slept through the whole flight there and was wrapped around me in a Moby front carrier which is really the greatest invention.



Since this was our first time traveling with a baby, I got a little stressed out in the beginning. Maybe because you have to take so much stuff for an infant, and we didn't know what he would need, and I had been working so hard at getting him on a schedule, and when you travel it all goes to pot, etc, etc. But once we got there, and got settled, and I chilled out - it was all good, and we had a great time.

Quincy had so much fun playing in his travel bed!



We went the Mom & Tony's office building downtown, and I just realized that I didn't take a picture of her awesome view. Instead, here is a pic of Quincy getting burped after a bottle.


Here is an action shot from Pike's Market



One of Solon's best friends, Vince, lives in Seattle, and spent the day with us on Saturday. Here he is meeting Quincy for the first time.


Mom & Tony in front of the water


and with Quincy


Solon & Vince - (they used to play football together at Drake)


Mommy & Baby


Me with Vince


Quincy with his Grandma Lisa




On Mom & Tony's deck before heading back to the airport - They had a gorgeous view! You can see Mount Ranier on a clear day!


In the airport heading home




Forrest recovering from being away from his mom & dad for a whole weekend


Next time we go, we will plan to check out more of the touristy stuff like the Space Needle and the original Starbucks. I would also like to do some research on locations where the Tom Hanks' movie Sleepless in Seattle was filmed, so I can re-enact some scenes. =)

We had a wonderful time, and ate some AMAZING seafood, and went to a really cool winery, and were able to grab some Pizza Schmizza before we left. (Solon and I fell in love with Pizza Schmizza on a trip to Portland back in 2003 - and we found one 20 minutes away from mom's house! - It's a Pacific Northwest chain.)

In other news, today Quincy had his 2-month check up at the Pediatrician's office. He weighs 13 lbs. 4 oz. (which puts him in the 75% percentile), he is 25 in. long (taller than 95% of other children his age) and the doctor says he is doing great, to which I responded "Thank you!" but was thinking to myself, duh - he's a Bell! We are loving this kid more and more each day. He is sleeping 8+ hours straight at night, and sleeps for a total of 10-12 hours at night - so we are all getting better sleep.

Yesterday was Solon's 31st birthday - we celebrated with some homemade spaghetti, salad, and a great bottle of Columbia Valley Novelty Hill Sangiovese that mom bought us from the Januik Winery we visited. Delicious!

Family time, and a small discovery

Last week it was 83 degrees and I decided to head over to my parent's house for some playtime with Quincy. We spent a while out in the backyard, and QB loved it! He does this new thing when he gets excited where it looks like he treading water while on his back, and either blows bubbles or coos. It's so cute. So we took advantage of his super cute & fun mood and I snapped some pics, including one of the 3 generations (mom's side).








On Wednesday, Quincy and I had a playdate with Kellan and Larel. We met up at Desert Ridge Marketplace where they have a fountain area that kids love to run through in the summer when it's hot, and Kellan loved it even though it was cold out. He also thoroughly enjoyed the playground that they have there as well, and ran through it like he owned the joint. We had a great time.











Last night we had dinner at my godmother's house and I was able to get this picture of the four generations on my dad's side.


So the small discovery that I made happened while tending to one of Quincy's diaper "blowouts". I am washing my hands so much these days that they get so dry, and no lotion I use seems to quench them long enough without leaving my hands feeling all sticky. So after cleaning up my son, I slathered some Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula BOTTOM BUTTER onto his cute little butt, and my hands instantly felt great. So soft, and not sticky, and the light cocoa butter fragrance is so yummy smelling. So if you are looking for a great hand cream, and don't feel like spending $20 on a good one, then by all means get some Bottom Butter. They sell the tiny "purse-size" tubes at Babies R Us for $1.00, but I am sure you can also find the bigger tube at your nearest drugstore for less than $5.

Superbowl, Sammiches, and another Baby Boy!

We watched the SuperBowl last night at our house, and I must say, it was a great game. Now I do feel that the referees favored the Steelers about 80/20, but despite that, the Cardinals held their own and played a great game. It would have been great if the Cardinals would have pulled it out in the end, because it was looking rather promising when Larry Fitzgerald scored that incredible touchdown, but MVP Santonio Holmes got extremely lucky with a beautiful pass that helped the Steelers land their 6th SuperBowl win. They are certainly deserving of the title of the Most Winningest NFL team. And we have family in "the 'Burgh" (and we almost moved their last year), so I am happy for them. Pittsburgh is a great city, and they have very loyal fans.

Quincy is tuckered out from all the excitement of yesterday's big game


In other, happier news, on January 24, one my best friends - Christina & her husband Aaron - welcomed their first baby Tyler Aaron Reese to the world. We went to go visit them at Phoenix Baptist Hospital last Sunday.

Tyler was born Saturday, 1/24/09 @ 7:11pm - 9 lbs. 2 oz, 22.5 inches long
Aaron got to help deliver the baby - how exciting!


Three Alpha Gams and a little boy


Solon and Tyler


Quincy continues to meet new faces every week, and is just the greatest baby. I took him to Sammich Club last week - a club that began 6 years ago when I worked at the radio station. A group of us gets together for lunch once a month at a different Sandwich (sammich) spot. Quincy is the newest member of Sammich Club. Here he is with my friends Dena and Mak (the founder and my former boss).



Also, a few weeks ago, my dear friend Nova was in town, visiting from NYC. She and I went to high school together, and she has always been like a big sis to me. We were able to visit for a few hours at Coffee Plantation (an old favorite).


More pics from the end of January...

Quincy showing off his muscles, and his funny sleeping position


His newest interests are staring at the ceiling fans and blowing spit bubbles


My adorable nephew Kellan, having fun in QB's car seat - it doubles as a rocking chair!


It's been a while since I've taken a self-pic


Charissa, her son Garrett, and Liz with Quincy



My two handsome sons
Quincy

and Forrest


Hope your New Year is off to a great start!
xoxo

P.S. You may have noticed that I added a music playlist to my blog - For Your Listening Pleasure. If you don't want to listen to the fabulous music I put on here, simply turn your sound off, or press pause on the music player on the right side of the screen. And if your sound wasn't on already, by all means, turn it on and enjoy the tunes.