Quincy's Vacation Pool

Even though Grammie and Grandpa Loren already sent Quincy money to get a pool for our house they decided that since it's been so hot here they would just buy one to keep at their house. And really, it's been so STINKIN' hot here! Yesterday it was 106*!! The coolest it was ALL day was 72*! It's crazy..... do you think we brought our Idaho heat with us? I hope not because I was seriously looking forward to enjoying some cooler weather.

(New pool, same kind of fun in the water. )

("Diving" for pool rings aka. shower curtain hangers)

While Tyler, Scotty, Karter, and I drove out to Multon Falls Yesterday, Quincy stayed home and played in his new 'fancy' pool with the palm tree canopy. He was a little hesitant about getting into the water since it was still cold, but seemed to have fun none the less. After all it's always fun when you get to stay with Grandparents, right?

(Grandpa Loren and Quincy)

(Posing for a picture)

(Grammie and Quincy)

(Scoping out the water)

(Adjusting the Velcro butterflies)

(Oh the life of a kid in the summer time!)

Thanks Grammie and Grandpa Loren for letting us come stay with you! Also thank you for the awesome new pool. It looks like we'll be seeing more of you guys since Tyler just got a job offer for JP Morgan Chase yesterday and we will be moving to the Portland/ Vancouver area by August 16th!

A special thanks to all those who have been keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. We are so relieved that Tyler has received this job offer and hope that our future soon starts to look brighter, which of course it already does. Our future plan is starting to take shape and form. Hooray!!

America's Funniest Home Videos

Remember watching America's Funniest Home Videos and laughing at clips of little kids falling asleep sitting on the toilet or falling asleep while eating their food? It always made me laugh, but I couldn't help but think at the same time.... 'what kid really does that?'

Our kid does..... but not on the peaceful terms that you would think. The other day Quincy was TICKED that he had to eat the dinner which we were having. I am not a fan of purely catering to my child's pickyness.... so he usually has to eat what we're eating. Though some meals are more successful with him than others are I feel it's a good way to experience new foods for him.

This particular night he was NOT about to eat the food, no matter how much enthusiasm we tried to show or encouragement we gave him. He wouldn't budge. Did I mention that Quincy's the product of two first children? Talk about being stubborn. I was never a picky eater as a kid and for the most part tried lots of things. Tyler, however was probably one of THE pickiest eaters ever. To this day I struggle to get my husband to eat certain foods. Image the life I live in the kitchen!

After having several talks with Quincy trying to convince him that we weren't going to make anything new for him we walked away to leave him and his food in the chair. He proceeded with a long tantrum of screaming at the top of his lungs. This probably went on for half an hour, at which point you would have thought the police were going to show up. Despite his lengthy efforts to get our attention, we managed not to cave. Eventually he ended up crying himself to sleep in his high chair and this is how he ended up:
Now I know some of you are gasping at how mean we are as the parents of this sweet angel. Seriously though, he went to bed hungry and woke up the next morning with the appetite of a full grown man. He ate an adult size portion or oatmeal, followed by 2 eggs, juice, and a cup of milk. He even ate a hearty lunch and dinner. So I think all in all, it helped to kick start our picky eater's appetite. We called his bluff and now he knows for the future what will happen.

Our Growing Garden

Yea! Our little garden is finally producing for us to eat from it. We have already harvested 4 peppers, several heads of lettuce, and even a couple of cubanelle peppers. My tomatoes are just starting to ripen and we have lots more strawberries coming on. Our lemon cucumber plants are blossoming too. It feels so nice to see the benefits of all our hard work this year.

Catch Phrase

Just wanted to record our son's latest favorite phrases:

* Mine! * -- I think this is something he's picked up from the little nursery girls, who are defensively yelling it at the little boys who are trying to steal their dollies.

* I do myself. * -- This is what we're told throughout each day. Occasionally he says "I need help you" (When we ask him, "Do you need help?" he gets confused when asking for us to help him. Instead of saying "I need you to help me", he says "I need help you". Close enough right?)

* No! * -- If we ask him any thing, more often than not this is the first response. It's funny when we ask if he would like something he really wants and replies with a *no*.

He's acquiring quite the 2 year old attitude if I don't say so myself. Still, he has his moments where he's sweet.


This morning when I came to get him out of his crib I started feeling sick and had to wake Tyler up to change his diaper. I was standing in his doorway, to assure him I wasn't going to leave him trapped in his crib, and holding my stomach. He looked at me and said "Mama's tummy has owyee." To which I couldn't help but smile, despite feeling nauseous, and said "Yes, Mama's tummy hurts." He smiled at me really big and said.... "I kiss it better." My heart just melted. He did kiss it and you know what? For about 5 seconds it DID feel better.

Something else he said today, our little parrot that he is, was when he found a tack on the floor and I told him to give it Dad because it was dangerous. He ran to the kitchen yelling "This dangerous." We really have to watch what we say because he repeats almost anything. I love my little soon to be 2 year old. I can't believe how big he's getting.

Our little artist

Quincy got a couple of sheets of stickers from Grammie and Grandpa in the last package they sent. This is how he spent a good hour:

Expressing himself artistically.

Don't you love how he is already expressing himself artistically through his choices of outfits? I love the Elmo shirt with the Shark shorts combo.

A tender moment for dad.....

While was doing some things on the computer one day Tyler sat on the couch reading Quincy some books. Together they were reading one of the Disney books... which those of you who don't know, are pretty long to sit through, let alone listen to for a not quite 2 year old. I listened as Tyler read page after page and Quincy didn't say a word, obviously quite engrossed in the book. Soon enough I heard Tyler trail off the sentence he was reading with "and they all slept happily ever after, the end........" I looked over and this is what I saw:
What a precious moment.

Hello Pipa

Thank you all for your congratulations!

My Doctor appointment yesterday was pretty eventful. Both Tyler and Quincy went with me, which was actually pretty nice. Quincy really didn't know exactly what was going on, but managed to show a great deal of enthusiasm. Before my actual appointment started I went to get an ultra sound.


The ultra sound technician commented on how cute Quincy was and said multiple times that she couldn't believe how well he was talking, or how much for his age. He pointed things out the whole time, he even said "take baby out?" We assured him that they weren't going to take the baby out, but that we would be able to see the baby. Both Tyler and Quincy watched as little Pipa made its appearance on the computer screen.


It's always reassuring to see a little baby there in my tummy. Although I feel all the symptoms of being pregnant, there's nothing like seeing that little body on the screen. Pipa looked very healthy, but because I'm only 8 weeks 6 days was only 2cm long (about the size of a split pea). I noticed this made a big difference in the ultrasound because it was more difficult to get a clear picture of Pipa. When I went in with Quincy for my first ultrasound I was 10 weeks and the picture was much clearer, as his body was a little further developed. Pipa had a heart rate of 174bpm. Which the technician said is great. In fact the first thing I could really distinguish before she got clear picture of Pipa was the heart beating. It was very clear.


I wish I had a scanner to let you all see the picture better, but I don't. So here's a picture of a picture. Hopefully you get the idea.


Before the technician started the actual ultra sound she asked how this pregnancy was going, if I think everything seems normal, how I was feeling etc. How do you really answer these questions? "Well, lately I've been feeling really crappy and sick, but other than that everything's fine."


I've only been pregnant one time previous to this one, so how would I know if everything's "normal". This one's definitely differnet from the last, but what does that mean? She also asked, do you think it's twins? This question made me nervous. Why would I be expecting twins? I said, "Don't twins have to run in the family?" She replied, "Actually, no. We have recently had lots of women coming in who have naturally conceived twins and even triplets." Again, at this point I'm feeling a little more nervous, I had a difficult enough time carrying one baby. The thought of doing two at once....................unfathomable.


Quickly my nervous thoughts disappeared as the ultrasound started. Everything was going along as anticipated. She commented on the different things we were watching on the screen.... this is the uterus, this is the baby, here's the heart beat, here's the sac etc. etc. Then there was this one area she kept navigating back towards.... she seemed like she was probing it for more details. I myself was trying to figure out what it was as well. Finally she said, "Well, it looks like you have another egg sac here."


Suddenly that nervous feeling returned. Could it be possible that the technician was right about the multipes bug? Did I really catch it? Oh good heaven, I couldn't even think about there being 2 in there. As she poked around the get a better angle of the second egg sac she said, "Well, I don't think there's anything in it. I can't see any signs of a forming baby. But this is interesting."


Hmmm.... interesting? I dunno about that. I probed her further for some infortmation. "What does this mean?" She told us it could be lots of different things, another baby could have started forming, but just didn't devlop quite right. Or it could have miscarried. I thought it was strange that the egg sac would still be there and asked if it would have any affect on Pipa... to which she assured me that it should all be fine. Whew.... I was starting to feel a little better now. Because my doctor was called away to do an emergency hystarectamy I wasn't able to talk to her more about it. However, I do have another appointment next month to have a second ultrasound done to moniter the second egg eac.


I was able to talk to my doctor's head nurse Donna, who actually helped deliver Quincy when he was born. She assured me not to worry, as pregnant women already have enough to worry about. Ha! Pregnant women and worries? Oh not me, I have nothing to worry about these days, my life is a perfect vacation 24/7. But really I'm not too concerned, mostly because I have too many other things to be concerned about.


After all the excitement of the ultrasound was done I had the usual lab work: blood pressure, urine test, weight (I've lost another pound again), and lastly some blood drawn. I hate that last one. I really don't like needles...and sometimes just seeing them makes me want to cry. I have A negative blood, negative blood is uncommon-- what's ironic is that all of my brother's and I have it. Quincy also has A negative blood type like me, all my brother's (except for Scott who is O negative) and my Mom. When I was pregnant with Quincy I had to get the Rhogam shot because we don't know Tyler's blood type. Because Quincy is A negative like me, we still don't know if Tyler is positive or negative. If he's negative then I don't have to worry about all those shots.


I came up with the bright idea that she should just test HIS blood to find out his type. If it's positive then I'll have to get shots with all my pregnancies, but if not no shots. Plus I'm ALWAYS the one getting poked, prodded, and stuck with needles during pregnancy.... why couldn't Tyler join in the fun? So he did. Lucky him, he only had to have one tube drawn while I sat through four painful ones. For some reason they always have a hard time getting a vain in my arms... which usually results in countless pokes in different areas and lots of needle marks. Luckily the gal who took my blood yesterday found a vain, though she said was in a bad spot and might even be a little painful, the first try. It was painful, but better than being stabbed 10 times. You think I'm joking about 10? Not even close! So we're all done..... now we get to wait for the next appointment.

Wish us luck for next time.

Just thought you all should hear the Great News

The last few months have been a whirlwind of emotions for all of us here in the Howard household. As you know, Tyler resigned from his former job a month ago, which in turn has meant that I've been working almost full time. This has been most challenging... especially because I've had a big secret I've been keeping.....


........And that secret is......that Quincy is going to be a big brother.

Yep, that's right we are going to have an increase in our little family of three in February of next year. We couldn't be happier about this great news. Although things are challenging for us at the moment, we are excited about being parents for the second time around.

Kati's Perspective about the pregancy: I think it would be so nice if all of my pregnancies were the same, or at least similar... this way I could know what to expect each time. However, this time around has been nothing like the last. I have felt horrible for the past month or two.

Poor Tyler has really had to step up in the kitchen/ cooking department, as the smell and thought of cooking is purely exhausting and sickening to me. Not only has he taken on the role of head chef in our home, but has also had to tend to all 'foul' smells. My gag reflex has been extra sensitive as well as the urge to vomit.

In addition to the overwhelming feeling of being exhausted ALL day long, I have lost my sense of appetite. This hasn't been such a terrible thing for my weight gain. With Quincy I started gaining right from the start... this time around I have gained only 2 pounds. I have no strange cravings. The only thing that has souned good to me are nectarines. I guess maybe that's a little weird. I really craved fresh oranges with Quincy, in fact I really lived off them for the first 3 months. Is it strange that I crave certain fruits? No pickles and ice cream, or potato chips and yogurt... nothing of the sorts.

Quincy's perspective on the Pregnancy: We told Quincy last month that we were going to have a baby and that he's going to be a big brother. Whenever we ask "Quincy, where's the baby?" he proudly smiles and says "In Mama's tummy!" When we were at the store looking for prenatal vitamins we explained to Quincy that they were for the baby. At dinner every night when he sees me taking my vitamin during dinner he says "Vitamin for baby in Mama's tummy."

It's amazing how he's picked up on the littlest things. Every now and then we ask him if he wants a baby brother or baby sister. Each time his answer is different, usually resulting in whatever choice is said last. I love how much excitement he's already showing. I know he'll be a great big brother.

Tyler's perspective on the Pregnancy: Tyler is still in a surreal state of mind. To him the pregnancy hasn't become real yet. Just a couple of weeks ago I told him that I was 6 weeks pregnant to which he replied "Wow, already? Man this pregnancy is just flying by." I looked at him incredulously and said "Yeah, for you. You're not the one who feels like crap every day." I will say that Tyler has been extremely patient with my emotional ups and downs. He has also been very supportive about taking on my usual responsibilities in the house.

I told Tyler that his job for this pregnancy was to name the baby. While I was pregnant the first time, before we knew the sex of the baby, I told Tyler we needed to call the baby something. Tyler picked the name Xuxa (shoe- sha) the female name of a children singer in Brazil. And that was Quincy's name for 6 months.... This time around he suggested a couple of names, but the one we decided on together was Pipa (peep-a). I think he told me it means 'kite' in Portuguese, but I liked the sound of it... little baby Pipa. We will be sure to keep you updated as things progress along.

At the Car Wash

Last week Tyler decided that our car was long overdue for a wash... so the boys took it upon themselves to shine up our dirty car.



Quincy was quite the little helper to dad. He made sure that there were plenty of soapy bubbles in the bucket for washing the car. He also made sure that the rags in the bucket were all ready for washing. Don't mind that he managed to get just a few bubbles and a tiny bit of water on himself. It was all for the sake of helping get the job done.



I loved watching my two boys washing the car together. Quincy was right down there by Tyler each step of the way. He wanted so badly to make sure that he didn't miss a thing.



He was very careful not to miss one spot on the car's tires.
What a great helper.

Quincy's new Favorite Hiding Place

This is the spot where you can find Quincy in our house when it's quiet. He loves to hide behind our sofa and lay on the big pile of blankets back there. Often times I find toys, cups, blocks, and stuffed animals back here. This day he brought back "mama bear" to snuggle with him in his 'fort'.

Cuddling with Mama Bear.

Posing for the camera with his buddy, Mama Bear.

And here is our boy hamming it up for the camera.

Fourth Coninued.....

After the parade we went to the Julia Davis park for a family picnic. We had crackers, watermelon, nectarines, chips, hot dogs and pop.

Notice what Quincy clung to right off the bat.

I laughed when I was taking this picture because notice WHO'S sitting in Quincy's chair. And see how happy Quincy looks about it.

Even after getting his chair back... he was still unhappy, mostly because we told him he couldn't have any pop unless he ate his hot dogs. He wasn't happy about this. Poor Quincy it was nap time.

Our little trooper ALMOST made it to watch the firework downtown. He wanted so badly to watch, but passed out in the car (still holding his milk) on the car ride there.

Luckily we anticipated this and so we were prepared with his jogger stroller, which allows him to lay completely back. He slept, just like this, ALMOST the entire time.


He slept this way for about 45 minutes.... through fireworks going off, cars honking, drunk people yelling, and then about 5 minutes before the firework show ended he popped up and said clear as a bell "Fireworks... right there." At first we thought he was sleep talking, but soon his little eyes focused and he looked all nervous hearing the loud noise. We ended up letting him sit on our laps to watch the rest of the show.

I think all in all, we had a great Fourth of July. Next year will be even more fun.

Happy Late 4th everyone!

Fourth of July Events

Our Fourth started out with a car ride to watch the downtown Boise Parade.

Quincy was pretty excited that he got to go in the car so early in the morning.

Anxiously awaiting the parade festivities.

Snapping a shot of us on the street.... patiently waiting for the parade to make it's way to us.

Putting lots of sunscreen on. It was pretty hot that morning. Tyler got a little sun burnt on his face.... he should have taken notice of Quincy's good example.

Enjoying the beautiful view above us. I love how pretty the clouds look.
He actually wanted to sit on my lap... so of course we had to document it via photo.

Finally the parade starts.

Some cool old cars.

I took a picture of this float because the "statue" man on it was real. I couldn't believe he was kneeling so still on it.... not to mention he wasn't passed out from all those layers of clothing he was wearing. It had to have been 85* that morning!

And what is a parade without music? These bag pipe players are in it each year... and they are phenomenal. I think parades should ALWAYS have music. Don't you?

Quincy really like this small "police car".

The unicycle man was a big hit with Quincy as well. He was especially impressed that the guy was juggling as well. He kept saying... balls.

Some of the war vehicles. Something about seeing these made me get a little choked up. I feel so grateful that we live in a nation where we are so blessed to have so many freedoms. I am also grateful for the many men and women who have fought and are still fighting for those freedoms.

This bus housed some of the veterans... who waved flags from inside, where I'm sure they had some air conditioning to keep them cool.

More men in service.

All in all, the parade was a hit with Quincy.

Hot cross Buns

Well the 'pre-potty training' is still going on around here, though quite unsuccessfully I might add.

(Look at these cute buns)

We've been trying to keep Quincy motivated about his new friendship with the potty chair. He's still reluctant to get to attached. We did, however, get him to sit on it for 15 or 20 minutes straight a few weeks ago. Of course he can't sit unless he has something to look at... so we read him some books to keep him distracted.

I think I'm the one who's more anxious for potty training. Tyler tries to keep reminding me "he's not even 2 Kati." I know, I know.... I just want to get it over with already. I think if I were home every day we'd be working on it morning, noon, and night. Perhaps if we got him in the habit of sitting on it 3 times a day, it would start a nice little routine.

Tyler is not this motivated... the thought of having to do this 'routine' exhausts him. So for the meantime, we're still trying to break the habit of him pooping under the crib.


Oh and as a side note... we gave him this water bottle to drink while he was practicing sitting on the potty. We figured that maybe if he drank enough he might actually feel the need to go while he was sitting.... nope, no such luck.
*Sigh* Someday.



***Note: one of my biggest dreams came true just a few short hours after I posted this. Quincy actually POOPED in his potty. It wasn't very much, but just enough to get him excited about doing the deed in his potty chair. He proudly helped me carry the container to the toilet to flush it goodbye. Eureka! I hope this little bit of success continues on during the next few weeks. Baby steps right? Oh and I apologize to all of you who don't have kids and probably think it's totally weird that I'm getting so excited about him pooping in the potty. You will understand some day. :o)