The Quimby Family

2009-07-20T09:41:00.003-04:00

What a great weekend! Brian took Friday off so we could go to the beach and meet our friends, Roney and Susie in Siesta Key. It was a beautiful day and so relaxing... it helps to have a condo right on the beach to take your tired toddler inside when she is hot and tired. I told Brian that we need to get one in Clearwater so I could go to the beach more! Blythe had so much fun this time. This is only the second time this summer she's been to the beach and the first was not much fn. She was hot and scared of the ocean and didn't care much for the sand. This trip was totally different. She LOVED playing with her sand toys both in and out of the water. She thought it was hilarious when she got hit by an incoming wave and would laugh and laugh (of course we didn't let her get knocked down because that would have been the end of the fun). She even sat in the shallow water with her bucket and shovel and played in the water until we made her leave.

Saturday was my 29th birthday and it was great. We didn't do anything special, but it was fun relaxing and spending time with Brian and Blythe. Of course it helped that they, along with my mom, bought me a new lens for my camera that I absolutely LOVE! Brian also went with me to scout out a tree branch for my next photography project (more to come later on that...). We got attacked by mosquitos in the middle of the day in the woods while he tried to cut down a branch. Meanwhile, I played with my new
camera lens on the nice, mosquito-free path (though it was probably 100 degrees on the hot pavement). Blythe stayed with Poppy while we searched (after we surprised him by walking into his house while he was in the back yard - we didn't know he was home from North Carolina!) After getting attacked by the woodland insects, Brian found an even better tree branch right next to Meme and Poppy's house! So now we have two options and a story to tell about it once I complete my project :-)

Finally we went to dinner as a family which was pretty uneventful (other than running into some friends we haven't seen in awhile). It was relaxing and the perfect way to spend a birthday. Of course the day wasn't complete without a photoshoot of Blythe with my new toy! We stopped at the park on the way home and took some pictures. She's a total ham and gives me a big goofy grin as soon as the camera comes out. You would never know that she's been having thousands of pictures taken of her since she was born 16 months ago ;-) I hope Keller loves the camera just as much!

Sunday was pretty normal. We visited a new church and spent the rest of the day being lazy around the house. It's fun to spend time as a family of three and watch Blythe run around in her flurry of activity. I cherish these times before Keller arrives (in only THREE more weeks!) and want to spoil Blythe with all the attention she can stand! Things for Keller are slowly coming together, though I realized this weekend how little time I have left and kept making a list in my head of all the things that still need to be done. Maybe the nesting is starting to kick in, or maybe it's just the procrastinator in me since my list hasn't even made it on to paper yet!

Here are a few of the pictures we took on the way home from my birthday dinner... The first shows what it would be like to have twins... oh my!

These are just Blythe being silly... she had so much fun running through the bike racks!

A fresh look for a new start...

2009-06-23T18:06:00.006-04:00

I have neglected the blog for such a long time... I didn't even make it through Blythe's first year! Hopefully this time will be different. In the past few months I have gotten much more interested in photography and learning to use the camera we got before Blythe was born. I've spent more time playing with those pictures and less time posting them! Now I hope to share what I've learned with my friends in blog-land. I am by no means a professional, but am having lots of fun learning!

For those who haven't heard, we are expecting another baby girl in just seven more weeks! We have decided to name her Keller Crestyn (K.C.). We are excited to be adding to our little family, though I'm a little nervous about having two girls 17 months apart! I just can't imagine what life will be like in about 12 years... and I don't even want to think about the boys! Blythe isn't really old enough to understand what's about to happen but she will have to learn quickly once Keller is here!

Blythe has developed quite the personality. She's such a happy girl but is equally as independent-minded. She knows what she wants and will go to great lengths to get it! She is at such a fun age and has begun learning new words. She loves to show us "balls" and "dogs" as well as saying "mama" non-stop... sadly, it usually refers to a picture of herself, not me! She definitely knows "dada" though and gets so excited when her daddy walks into a room. We are having a relaxing summer though it's been tough to keep our little busy body occupied when it's been so hot outside! We have had several day with a heat index of over 105 this week - and Brian and I thought we'd left that in Texas - guess the joke's on us! Blythe has been in the pool a bunch but is just now starting to like it. She has developed an attachment to her two blankets that she sleeps with no matter how hot it is. Just last week, Brian forgot to give her a blanket when she went to bed (I was out) and she was up throwing a fit for an hour before he finally realized what was wrong. We now know not to underestimate the value of that comfort item for her.

There is a lot more to update but that will have to do for now. But of course I wouldn't leave without showing off my new found photography skillz, so here you go. This picture is from Father's Day. Enjoy!

Moving Right Along

2008-10-09T20:10:00.004-04:00

Now that Blythe is getting the hang of crawling, I made her some babylegs. I got a bunch of neat socks on clearance this week at the mall and it took me less than 5 minutes to sew each set. For those who haven't heard of these, they are like leg warmers.

All the floors on the first story of our house are either wood or tile and her poor knees have been very red for the past few weeks. Now, not only are her legs nice and warm (even though it's fall, it's still in the upper 80s every day), she also has some cushion and her cute little legs. And of course, as always, she's making a fashion statement!

In other big news, her first tooth is finally coming in! Tonight I stuck my finger in her mouth and felt something sharp coming through her bottom gum. Sure enough I looked later and saw a tiny red hole. She hasn't been any fussier than normal, but then again, normal has become going through every day with a runny nose and congested breathing since she's had a cold for almost three weeks. You wouldn't know it by the big smiles on her face all day though!

7 Months Old

2008-10-04T17:08:00.003-04:00

GO GATORS!!!

A Weekend Away

2008-09-29T19:45:00.006-04:00

Brian and I took a much needed trip this weekend. We went down to Ft. Meyers to a conference and Blythe stayed in Tampa with Meme and Poppy! We are so thankful to have family close by that love to help us out and give us time to spend alone together. We are even more thankful that they'll do it for three days with a baby who still doesn't have regular nap times! This weekend was such a blessing to us as we were reminded that God has given us such a gift in each other and there's nothing better we can do for our baby girl than to be thankful for that gift every day!

Meme and Poppy had so much fun with Blythe!
They put up a new swing for her to enjoy and she had a blast! They got her laughing every time she went in it!

She also watched the gator game with Poppy and was so sad that we lost! Meme and Poppy have made their house so fun for their grandbabies that soon they won't ever want to go home!

Fall is Here!

2008-09-29T19:40:00.004-04:00

Ok, so we do live in Florida so fall means it's in the 80s instead of the 90s. But we are loving it! We can finally enjoy being outside in the yard and at parks! It gives us so many more options for things to do during the day. Blythe has finally discovered the grass and is fascinated by it. When she's sitting in the grass I can't do anything to get her attention!

Today was our first trip to the aquarium with some friends. It was fun though Blythe really had no interest in it. She was more fascinated by all the other moms and kids that were there than she was by the fish. I'm sure there will be many aquarium visits in our future though!

Big Girl!

2008-09-29T19:37:00.002-04:00

Blythe got her new carseat and she loves it so much! I don't hear crying from the back of the car anymore which is such a relief. It's awful to have an upset baby behind you when there's nothing you can safely do about it. Since she's had this seat int he car she's been so much happier - and she'll even fall asleep in it!

Going, going, gone!

2008-09-17T16:09:00.009-04:00

Blythe will be crawling soon. I'll be mourning my loss of freedom while she is gaining hers! Guess we'll be doing more babyproofing soon!

6 Month Appointment

2008-09-17T16:09:00.003-04:00

I made the doctor see us a week earlier than our original appointment (which was three weeks late anyways) because there were lots of questions I wanted to ask.. mostly having to do with my child's lack of daytime sleep - which he had not answer for! Well, she's still growing, but not as fast. Blythe now weighs 17lbs 4 oz (76th percentile) and is 26.5 inches long (95th percentile!!!). She is one long baby! The chart could be a little off though since our appointments are running behind. She is eating a whole lot though so I'm not surprised at her growth at all.

She is finally sleeping through the night thanks to her daddy's gentle nudge. Against my will, we (as in BRIAN) used the Ferber method to train her to sleep at night and it worked quickly. It wasn't easy, but it sure is nice to get a decent amount of sleep at night. My body has had a hard time adjusting and I still wake up from time to time. I don't think it knows what to do with so many hours to sleep. Also, Blythe is going down at 7pm instead of 9 so we finally have some quiet in the evenings which is so needed!

Now, this is what we see when we go into her room in the morning... How can you not smile at this face?!?!

Growing so fast!

2008-09-04T20:24:00.006-04:00

Blythe is 6 months old today. I know everyone says it goes by quickly but it's still so hard to believe she has been here that long. At the same time, it's difficult to remember life without her here. We are so thankful for her and the joy she brings to our lives.

Our doctors appointments are off by a few weeks because of the way we are doing Blythe's shots. At 5 1/2 months, she weighed 16 lbs 4 oz! She is just getting so big! Her six month appointment isn't for a few more weeks. I'll have to et out the scale at home and weigh her tomorrow. She is getting so much more active and never wants to sit still. She wants to get into everything but hasn't quite mastered how she should do that. She's not crawling yet, but she moves to get to what she wants. We're afraid she is going to start walking first...

This is what I saw when I was setting up the camera this afternoon. One minute she was sitting and playing with her toy, the next minute she was using it to stand up! She does that all the time using us, but that's the first time she did it completely on her own using another object! We've got to find a way to slow her down!

4 Month Stats

2008-07-20T15:35:00.002-04:00

Our 4 month appointment was about 10 days late but here are the stats:

Height: 25" (85th percentile!)
Weight: 14 lbs. 6.5 oz. (74th percentile!)

So I can't see it but our baby is getting so big! The doctor said she definitely needs to eat more solids to get enough calories. I just hope she holds off on crawling and walking!

First Solid Foods!

2008-07-20T15:02:00.003-04:00

Our baby sure is growing up fast. At her 4 month appointment, her pediatrician asked us to start solids. I had planned on waiting until 6 months, but because of her reflux, and the fact that she is waking up more during the nights, the doctor asked us to start now. We started her on rice cereal and she ate it up! Blythe has never been a baby to refuse food, ever. They say babies only eat until they are full, but my child will eat whatever, whenever! She didn't mind the spoon in her mouth and by the end she was grabbing it to put in her own mouth! It's so fun to see her doing new things and learning, but sad at the same time as we watch her grow up so fast! We'll see how this continues this week...

Lots Of Catching Up To Do

2008-07-20T13:20:00.001-04:00

So I have been taking pictures, but I haven't been posting them. Now that there are 2 months worth, I feel a bit overwhelmed and keep putting it off. Today is the day I plan on catching up!

So here we go...

Beach Baptism

2008-07-13T14:53:00.000-04:00

Our church, Church at the Bay, held their baptism at Honeymoon Island State Park this weekend. It was neat to see so many new believers as well as so many new members since the last time we did this! Blythe got to put her feet in the water for the first time. She didn't seem to notice that her feet were sinking deeper and deeper into the sand. I think it just helped her stand up better!

4 Months Old and July 4th

2008-07-04T14:46:00.000-04:00

We spent all week getting ready to move and spent the holiday weekend moving. However, I couldn't let her 4 month birthday go by without her special outfit (which I dug out of a box!) and a few pictures! Think I'll do things like this with my other children or is it just the first?!?

Blythe and Logan are becoming friends now that she is more mobile. Logan is very gentle with her and has let her touch his nose a few times. He was feeling left out during the pictures so we tried to get shots of them together. Poor Logan probably doesn't know what he has coming as our little one grows up...

She's just so darn cute!

2008-07-02T14:43:00.000-04:00

I bought this outfit before Blythe was born and it has been too big. Now it's too hot to wear it so I put her in it on a day I knew we'd be home all day. I had to take some pictures before I packed it away. She is just showing so much personality lately and it's so fun!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

2008-06-30T14:39:00.000-04:00

Blythe is now using her umbrella stroller when we go for walks. She likes to sit up and watch everything as we go by. Even if I try to lay her back in her stroller she pulls her body forward and sits up! She seems to love being in it though.

What a Big Girl!

2008-06-30T14:36:00.000-04:00

Blythe is sitting up pretty much by herself now. She does not like to be laying down and holds her head up in a mini-crunch for as long as she can when we put her down on her back. While I was folding laundry in her room, she sat next to me on the bed watching. Next thing we know, she'll be folding laundry with me!

Go Business Sox

2008-06-23T14:27:00.000-04:00

Brian is playing in a summer softball league with a bunch of guys from church. Blythe wanted to support her daddy's team so she got a matching t-shirt!

Leaving on an Airplane...

2008-06-21T13:50:00.001-04:00

Blythe took her first plane trip to visit my mom and friends in Jacksonville. I was a little nervous but figured not too much could go wrong on a 45 minute plane flight... I learned differently.

Despite my best efforts to get her to sleep while we were waiting on the gate. I was excited cause I figured she would stay asleep the whole plane ride! Instead, she woke up right as we were getting ready to take off... The flight didn't bother her though, she just got very fussy when she woke up before we landed. On the way there, Blythe was awake until right before I got on the plane. She actually fell asleep while I was pushing her stroller down the ramp,Thankfully we had a row to ourselves and some very understanding people around us!

Blythe adjusted well to being in a new place. She slept in my room in a pack and play and was great! In fact, I think she slept better than she does at home. She loved her new room, especially the mirror!

She also got a new toy while she was in Jacksonville. Since she doesn't like to sit down and loves standing, the jumperoo was a hit! At first she wasn't sure what to do, but once she figured it out, she loved it!

Blythe got to hang out with Jaime a few times. Since Jaime is moving to Atlanta, we're sad that we might not see her as much! After all, who else is going to teach Blythe all about being southern? It does gives us a great excuse to go to Atlanta a lot though! Still, we're going to miss seeing Jaime whenever we visit Jacksonville. In this picture we were having lunch at Chick-fil-a... which is Jaime's new employer. You would thing she wouldn't want to eat there anymore since I'm sure she'll get more than enough!

Since my dear daughter is so curious and observant, sometimes she doesn't like to nap (note- that's most of the time...) When I was checking out at JoAnn Fabrics, they had this cute little sleep mask for $1 so I thought I would try it. It worked for about 10 minutes until my smarty realized she could turn her head back and forth and get it to move!

While we were there I got very sick (probably from being on the plane) so we stayed in Jacksonville longer so my mom could help take care of Blythe. Since they spend so much time together, they have really bonded. It was a sad goodbye at the airport, but not to worry... JJ will be back in Tampa next week!

The trip back to Tampa was awful! As soon as we got on the plane, the pilot informed us that the Tampa airport had closed due to storms and was rerouting flights to Jacksonville. As a result, not only would we be late, but we had to sit on the runway and wait for the go-ahead instead of getting off the plane! Needless to say, this was not a good thing with a 3 month old on board! Blythe got very agitated and upset (because she was overtired) during our wait on the runway and there was nothing I could do about it! We ended up sitting for an hour and a half (all the while, Brian was waiting in Tampa, telling me that the skies were blue and sunny!) Finally, my sweet girl just fell asleep on my lap and all was well in the world! Hopefully our next plane trip in August will be less eventful!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T14:30:00.000-04:00

Of course Blythe wanted a special outfit for her daddy's first Father's day... she's such a Daddy's Girl!

Flashback...

2008-06-12T13:22:00.000-04:00

My mom kept insisting that Blythe needed to wear the dress that I wore home from the hospital. I guess I'm just not sentimental, or have different taste than my mom used to, but I really wasn't in a hurry to have her wearing my old clothes! Well at 3 months old, she finally fit in my old dress (what does that say about my size as a newborn???)

3 Month Stats

2008-06-05T19:07:00.003-04:00

When looking at the handy dandy growth tracker, it appears that the nurse measured Blythe's height incorrectly last month. Here is where she is today, 6/5/08:

Weight: 13 lbs. 1 oz. (72nd percentile)
Height: 23 inches (46th percentile)

Here's a look at her charts:

Three Months Old

2008-06-04T21:07:00.002-04:00

Blythe is 3 months old already! It seems like every day she does something new. Here are a few pictures from today - she is definitely very strong! Tomorrow we go to the doctor so I will update her stats then. We are so blessed!

Swimming, Swimming, In the Swimming Pool

2008-05-26T23:20:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day was eventful for Blythe. We had a barbecue with some friends and Blythe got to go swimming for the first time!

Here is her before picture... she was happy and content doing her own thing.

But mom and dad had to go and change her into a swimsuit...

Then pose her like she was trying to get a tan... (note: We aren't bad parents - she had on lots of sunscreen and was only out for about 15 minutes) Then there were the steps of the pool. This is where she began to become concerned...

Then we tried to put her all the way in. It was at this point that she realized that this was more than a normal bath...

Finally, we put her in a float - she was more concerned with what she was sitting in than the water that was surrounding her!

All in all, she didn't seemed too phased by the whole experience. She just took it in stride as she tends to do with everything. As parents we were hoping for more of a reaction to her first pool experience! At least we learned that she didn't hate it like her daddy did when he was a baby. Our little water baby is going to have much more of this to come in the coming months!

On the Move...

2008-05-24T12:39:00.002-04:00

Blythe rolled over from her belly to her back THREE times this morning! Now I'm not sure that she really knows what she's doing - she just gets frustrated on her tummy. But at least we know she can do it! We'll just have to keep forcing that tummy time every day now... poor girl!

The Sweetest Face

2008-05-22T21:18:00.002-04:00

We just love her so much!

She's Blessed!

2008-05-22T21:08:00.005-04:00

Blythe's baby dedication was this past weekend. After going to Grandpa's memorial, this was an even more special time because it seemed so much more significant! God has given us such an enormous responsibility to raise our little girl to love Him and come to know Him personally. Knowing we have the support of not only our immediate family, but also our church family is a comfort when I think of how much we have been entrusted with. God knew what he was doing when he created families as was evident at both the memorial service and the dedication. It was a special day in Blythe's life and the life of our family.

So Cute

2008-05-18T18:27:00.003-04:00

Here is a picture of Blythe in the dress that
Meme made for her baby dedication today.
More pictures of the weekend will be up soon!

Our First Overnight Trip

2008-05-17T22:00:00.005-04:00

We went to Gainesville over the weekend because Brian's grandpa passed away last week. During the memorial service the word "legacy" was used over and over. Though the occasion was sad, it was neat to see how much of an impact grandpa made on so many people, including the three great-grandchildren that were present. What a sight to be at a memorial service with three new babies! Grandpa was used by God to lead his family to Christ and that will in turn impact our own child as we seek to lead her in the same way. And in the same weekend that we celebrated his Godly life, Blythe was dedicated to God in our church service on Sunday.

Friday night we gathered with family at Aunt Jane and Uncle Tom's home. Granny got to enjoy being around her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!

Blythe was so good as she got passed around! (And I had some time off to enjoy the visit while the family played with her)... of course she decided to skip a nap completely and we could definitely tell as the night went on!

Aunt Jane enjoyed the girls a lot. Of course it was fun as long as both girls cooperated at the same time. This scene didn't last long! Why does it always look like Calleigh is trying to push Blythe away?!?

All weekend Calleigh wanted to help us take care of Blythe! Here we were changing her diaper and Calleigh wanted to be a part of it... she's so funny!

Here she is trying to help again!

These girls are going to have so much fun together as they grow up! We can definitely see their individual personalities when they are together. Blythe is quiet and observant of everything around her while Calleigh is a flurry of activity! (Notice how Blythe has her hands clasped together - she just started doing that last week and has her hands like that all the time! She's such a priss!)

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T21:32:00.006-04:00

I finally know what Mother's Day means to be a mother. The past two months have been such an amazing change in my life. Watching Blythe grow and learn new things every day is so fascinating and so fulfilling. I am grateful that Brian's hard work has allowed me to stay home with her and be able to absorb all of the little moments I can with her. I love seeing the tiny changes that happen every day. I can't wait until we can go out and do more together but I want to enjoy every moment that we have while she's this small since it will be gone in a flash!

Blythe got me a bouquet of beautiful tulips with a sweet card thanking me for all her "food" and the cool new things she looks at but doesn't use yet ;-) Tomorrow we are going shopping for a new charm for my bracelet to commemorate my first Mother's Day! And Brian woke up this morning and made me breakfast before he headed off to church to play in the band! All in all it was a good day!

We had a fun lunch with Meme and Poppi at The Cheesecake Factory. After a long nap to recover from all the excitement, we tried to go out and take a few mother's day pictures but Blythe was worn out and more fascinated by the wind in the trees than by the camera.

She's gotten so strong! She has started to pull up when she's sitting on my lap. The legs can only hold her for a few seconds but she loves doing it!

I love being a mommy! How can you deny this sweet face!

Did you hear her?

2008-05-05T11:56:00.003-04:00

In the past week, Blythe has begun to have full conversations with us whenever she's awake. She loves when we talk back to her and gets so excited! I'm pretty sure she says "mom" in this video. Do you hear it?

In this video she is talking to the giraffe that is hanging above her. She talked to him for 30 minutes! She had a lot to say - I'm pretty sure it was about the rough night she had last night keeping her mommy up!

She's Two Months Old!

2008-05-05T11:48:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was Blythe's Two Month Birthday. Look how big she's gotten!

We LOVE Living in Florida!

2008-05-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

While we were driving back from lunch with Great Grandmommy, Meme had us stop to take a walk on the beach. This is what makes living in Florida so great! We can stop and take walks on the beach without making an entire trip out of it! Blythe is so lucky to be growing up with this amazing creation around her.

I think Blythe will have lots of pictures like this with Meme since she loves the beach so much!

Four Generations of Quimbys

2008-05-03T21:09:00.001-04:00

We finally made it down to Bradenton to visit Brian's grandparents. It was a sweet time introducing Blythe to the great-grands. She took everything in as she was passed around and posed for pictures. She's such a trooper when we treat her like a little doll (even letting me dress her up!)

Here she is with her Great-Grandmommy Quimby

Look at how she watched her Great-Granddaddy! She's so observant!

There are Four Generations!

At this point she was starting to get tired of the pictures and she let us know it! If you look closely you can see how she sticks her bottom lip out to warn you she's about to cry. She's learned that this is about as far as she has to get with the fussing.

Great-Grandmommy was so sweet to knit Blythe a beautiful blanket. We're so lucky to have moved back near our families before we added to our own family. Blythe will get to spend time with so many of those that love her!

Two Month Checkup

2008-04-29T18:35:00.003-04:00

Today Blythe turned 8 weeks old! She did really well at her visit. Last time she screamed the entire time. You could definitely tell she was mad at me when the nurse gave her two shots. She looked directly at me and screamed. She didn't continue crying though, she just wanted to let me know how angry she was.

I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. This week she has begun sleeping for 5 hour stretches every night. Technically that is considered 'sleeping through the night.' Whoever came up with that definition must not have been the one waking up to feed their baby after 5 hours!

So far she has been very calm and relaxed the rest of the day. Of course that could be a result of the Tylenol I gave her ;-) We are spreading out her vaccines to minimize her exposure to everything all at one time so we get to go back to the doctor every month for the next 9 months. If she gives me that look every time they give her a shot I might develop a complex!

So far, here are her stats:

Birth: 3/4/08
Weight: 7 lbs (32nd percentile)
Height: 19 inches (38th percentile)
Head: ?

Two Weeks: 3/18/08
Weight: 7 lbs 9.5 oz
Height: 20 1/4 inches
Head: 14 1/4 inches

Two Months: 4/29/08
Weight: 10 lbs 8 oz (43rd percentile)
Height: 22 1/2 inches (67th percentile)
Head: 15 1/2 inches

The doctor said she is well on her way to doubling her birth weight before 6 months! She also has really good head control even though she hates when we lay her on her belly. We'll have to let her cousin Calleigh teach her to crawl when she comes in July since she doesn't want to try yet. Until then, she'll just keep looking at her beautiful self in the mirror when she has tummy time!

Sunday Photo Fun

2008-04-28T15:19:00.003-04:00

Since I went to church on Saturday night I had the whole day Sunday free. So I made Blythe pose for some pictures and then I learned new editing techniques in photoshop. Here is a sample of my "work"

Smiles!

2008-04-20T12:06:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I was experimenting with headbands for Blythe and I caught her smile on camera!

Nights with JJ

2008-04-18T20:36:00.003-04:00

This is what I woke up to this morning

My mom has been here after returning from her trip to Tortola. Once again she's been on night duty. We've realized that once Blythe sees that it is light outside, she doesn't want to sleep in her crib anymore. She still wants to sleep, but knows that her crib is for nighttime. She's so smart!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-04-14T10:07:00.004-04:00

On Friday night Brian and I went to a wedding so Blythe spent her first evening alone with Meme and Poppy. She had lots of fun with them. They took her outside to see ducks in the front yard which she really enjoyed. We are so glad that she was good for them. She didn't sleep much but spent a lot of time just watching what was going on around her. Also, since she ate so much while she was there, she slept a lot that night! Not only did we have a night out, but I got more sleep too! She's the best kid!

Brian's birthday was this weekend. Sadly, he had the flu all weekend and still has a fever. We still went out to dinner on Saturday night with Meme and Poppy. Blythe did very well sitting at the table with us (once we put her in her baby straight jacket)!

Smiles Brighten Our Days

2008-04-10T09:31:00.003-04:00

Blythe started smiling at us this past Monday. It's not very regular or predictable so we haven't gotten a picture yet, but it's still fun. She is at her happiest in the mornings so I am going to try to keep the camera near. It's fun to watch her growing and learning so quickly!

Blythe meets Uncle Sean and Cousin Parker

2008-04-06T15:42:00.004-04:00

My brother came to visit this weekend with Jessica and Parker. They weren't here too long but we were happy to get the time with them that we did. It took awhile for Parker to warm up to his new cousin, but by the time he left he would give her kisses!

Since my mom was here too, she treated the four of us to dinner at The Melting Pot while she stayed home with the kids! None of us had ever been and we had a good time. Dinner was quite long but dessert was worth the wait! It was nice to have our first dinner out without Blythe but I did miss her. I resisted the temptation to call and make sure she was ok though ;-)

One Month Old!

2008-04-02T19:59:00.004-04:00

Can you believe that she's 4 weeks old already? Time has really flown by. We are definitely getting into more of a daily routine. Blythe is awake for the day around 9:45 (which is fabulous for mom!) and goes to sleep around 10:30 every night. She is still waking up every 3 hours at night consistently but we're getting used to no sleep ;-) We really have been blessed with a sweet baby girl who is very low maintenance. She's happy spending time on her play mat and loves her swing. Brian is also giving her music lessons almost every night - guess it's never too early to start! She's listening to Mozart and Vivaldi with him since our pediatrician says it makes kids smarter. She loves when Brian moves her arms to the beat of the music and seems fascinated by it all. It's neat to see her taking everything in and being so aware of her surroundings. She recognizes our faces and will follow me with her eyes if I am moving around the room.

By my estimate she weighs a little over 8 pounds now. She's filling out and getting chunkier in the legs and face. At least we know she's getting enough to eat!

This weekend Blythe will meet her uncle, Sean, and her cousin, Parker. We're excited to have them come visit!

The Beach at Sunset

2008-03-28T15:17:00.003-04:00

My mom and cousin, Jeyda, came in town this week to visit. They were a huge help with Blythe and gave me a wonderful break. My mom even took night shift for two nights and I got to sleep for two full nights! Jeyda is a pro with babies since she has four of her own so she helped out a lot and taught me a few things.

Since it's 30 degrees in Indiana where Jeyda lives, we went out to Clearwater beach at sunset and had a great fresh seafood dinner at Frenchy's. While we waited for a table we took a long walk on the beach. It was Blythe's first trip out to the beach but Brian said it would be mean to put her feet in the water. So we just took pictures with the sunset. She'll be a beach baby soon enough!

First Easter

2008-03-25T21:02:00.004-04:00

We finally made it back to church this weekend! JJ bought Blythe a cute easter dress but she had to wear a sweater with it since it was cooler than it has been. She was adorable and her church debut proved it. She did great during the service, not interrupting or making noise in the back where we sat. Funny enough, she fell asleep during the worship music which was very loud. She woke up when Hal began speaking! After she got herself back to sleep, Hal decided to play the drums as part of his illustration in the sermon. I thought she was going to scream but she was just slightly startled, opened her eyes and looked around, and went back to sleep.

After church she met the Easter bunny (who seemed very nervous about holding such a small baby).

Later we met Meme and Popi for lunch at The Rusty Pelican. It was a beautiful day!

Meeting Great Granny and Grandpa

2008-03-25T20:47:00.004-04:00

While Allison was in town we ventured up to Gainesville so the girls could meet their great grandparents. What would normally seem like a quick 2 hour drive up the road was a much longer trek with two babies in the car. After that experience I know it will be awhile before Brian and I decide to take any long car trips with Blythe. The girls did great though and the trip was a success.

As a bonus we even got to have lunch with Aunt Jane!

Meeting Cousin Calleigh and Aunt Allison

2008-03-25T20:34:00.004-04:00

Brian's sister, Allison, was in town last week. She and her husband, Brian Stebbins, brought their youth group to Tampa for a missions trip. Blythe got to spend lots of time with Calleigh and Allison. I think she even learned some things from Calleigh, like how to use her lungs! Maybe it's a coincidence, but she has become much more vocal since last week and does not like to sleep during the day. Calleigh is only about 2 months older than Blythe so they will have a lot of fun growing up together. Blythe does wish her cousin lived closer though ;-)

We spent a lot of time in Meme's new car (bought especially for her new grandchildren!) After last week Blythe is definitely over her car seat.

Three Generations

2008-03-25T20:31:00.002-04:00

Blythe had her first lunch out with Meme and JJ. She was a trooper since it was raining outside but of course she slept through most of the experience.

Bath Time

2008-03-15T20:57:00.004-04:00

Blythe had her first real bath today now that her umbilical cord has fallen off. I can't say that she loved it, but since she's such a good baby, she endured it. We made sure it was quick and it was followed by a full body massage that put her right to sleep. What a grand life to be a baby!

Photos by Request

2008-03-15T20:42:00.003-04:00

People keep asking us to see more pictures of our baby girl so here are a few.

She loves sleeping on her stomach

This is the face we get every time she wakes up... she can raise her eyebrows and grin at the same time while also scrunching up her whole body. We think she's part tree frog.

Here's a rare picture of her both awake AND smiling. It took a lot of tries to get this picture.

She is so content in her swing. She also loves her hands. Here she was so fascinated with her hands that we couldn't get her to look anywhere else.

Blythe is doing so well in her second week of life. She is settling into a more predictable schedule already which is great. She has stayed home with her daddy for a few hours two days in a row and managed to get only a little bit fussy when it's time to eat again and mom wasn't home yet.

She had her first lunch out with both grandmothers (JJ and Meme) yesterday. Later this week she will make a visit to Gainesville to meet her Great Grandparents. We are also really excited that her Aunt Allison and cousin, Calleigh, will be visiting this week!

Our First Outing

2008-03-10T21:03:00.003-04:00

Blythe made her first trip out today. First we had a pediatrician appointment this afternoon. She's doing very well and is back up to her original birth weight. The pediatrician told me that I need to eat a whole lot more (5 full meals a day!) We'll see how that goes. Later we made a short trip to the mall. That's right, less than a week old and she's been shopping. Her daddy is going to love me for that. Days and nights seem to be a bit confused. She'll stay awake all morning and then sleep all afternoon. Then wake up at bedtime and want to stay up for another 3 hours. We're working on that. As I type Brian is attempting to keep her awake for another hour so we can put her down to sleep and hope that she sleeps in longer stretches tonight.Here are some pictures from today.

Introducing Blythe Arden Quimby

2008-03-05T15:35:00.001-05:00

Blythe Arden is here!

2008-03-05T15:02:00.006-05:00

Blythe Arden was born yesterday, 3/4/08 at 4:56 pm. It was a very quick delivery (and labor thanks to an amazing epidural - who invented that thing!) She was born after only 10 minutes of pushing during 3 contractions! We couldn't have asked for anything better! She weighed exactly 7 lbs and is 19 inches long. She is very alert - staying awake for the first 6 hours of her life yesterday, just looking around at everything going on. We are truly blessed with her and are thankful for what God is doing in growing our family.

After 5 Years

2007-07-03T16:22:00.000-04:00

Here's a slideshow I made after Brian and I went to the British Virgin Islands for our 5th Anniversary. I have to say that he gave me an amazing surprise when he told me about the trip only a day and a half before we left! We had an amazing time but the slideshow says it all. (I know it's long but the ending is worth it) Enjoy!