We miss you AyYa!

A few days after the girls & I arrived in San Diego, my awesome sister, Ali, flew in from Baltimore for a week long visit. Ali had never been to CA, & she was very excited. There was lots of fun to be had. Shopping, good mexican food, margaritas, more shopping, a few more margaritas, and plenty of beach time. We took Riley to her beach park a lot & hung out on the beach a few times. We had a lot of fun shopping & Ali even treated herself to a really nice ring from one of the cute boutiques near the house. I can't forget about our daily trips to Starbucks. The baristas knew her by name by the end of the week. We also went to the San Diego Zoo one day. Luckily, Ali bears a striking resemblance to Eddie & she was able to get in the zoo for free with his pass. It probably helped that the man at the gate was about 107 & Ali was wearing a low cut shirt ;)
The week ended up going by way too quickly, and before we knew it she had to go home. I am trying to convince her she need to move out to CA with us. Little does she know, she has no choice! She is coming whether she likes it or not. It shouldn't be too hard of a sell. She loved it! We miss you tons Ali aka Aunt AyYa! Come back soon. I'll make sure to make your favorite dinner when you come....flap meat with a side of onion wine!! Ha!

Riley's 1st haircut!!

I finally decided it was time. Actually, it was on a whim. I have been trying so hard to let Riley's hair grow out, but the poor girl is not blessed with long flowing locks like you see on a lot of kid's heads. She rocks the wispy, fine, half straight half curly do. Most days if she doesn't have it in a ponytail, she looks like a feral child. I saw all these little girls at the playground with cute little bobs & decided it was finally time to throw in the towel on the long hair for now. My sister, the enabler that she is, egged me on. I did my research & found the best kids salon around. You can have any old hack cutting my daughter's hair for the first time! It was the cutest little place near the beach in La Jolla. The front of the store was a specialty toy store & the back was the salon. TVs, cute themed chairs like a fighter jet & a motorcycle. I was soooo nervous & was so worried I would regret it. I was just waiting for Riley to throw a complete fit when the lady came at her. Luckily, they also came stocked with lollipops & she was thrilled just to sit there, watch a movie, & eat her lollipop. She didn't even look away from the tv the entire time! In the end, she looked beyond adorable. It is so much fuller now & has some shape to it. Hopefully, it will grow out more evenly & she will wake up one day with long flowing locks. Who knows though. Her haircut is spunky, just like her. It might just have to stay that way!

Pictures from a rainy day

And my favorite....melts my heart...

Riley's 1st night in her big girl bed!

Where did our baby go? Riley spent her first night in her new big girl bed last night. She was falling out of her toddler bed crib conversion even with the rails, so we figured it would be better to have the twin bed with a longer rail. I would wake up in the middle of the night & find her on the floor with her head under the crib, so we figured it was time to find a better option. She slept great & loves to jump on it. What a monkey!

Big changes for the Quigley family!

First off, welcome to our new blog. I am really going to try & keep up with this one better, especially since we live so far from our family & friends now.

What a whirlwind these past few months have been. Back in September, Eddie parted ways with Shriners & began his nationwide job search. With only 7 weeks until my due date with Zoe, you can imagine how it could be just a tad stressful. He was contacted by Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego & had an amazing phone interview. They flew him out 2 weeks later & officially offered him the job about 15 minutes after Zoe was born. We were actually still in the delivery room when the email came in on his Blackberry.

Zoe decided to make a slightly early appearance, just one day shy of 38 weeks. She came out screaming & was a healthy 5lb 90z. She is getting so big already. She is a very easy baby for the most part. She LOVES to sleep & falls asleep easily on her own. She also started sleeping though the night at about 2 months. She usually only wakes once to eat, mostly around 4-5am & then back to sleep. I usually have to end up waking her by 8:30 if we need to get out for errands. The girl loves her sleep. I hope it lasts! She also loves bathtime. She splashes like a maniac. Looks like she will be a great swimmer like her sister.

It is hard to believe Riley will be 3 in March. She is over 3 feet tall now & is full of energy. She loves to swing like a monkey all over the playground. She is great with her little sister. She loves to give her hugs, help with diaper changes, and make sure she never loses her paci. I am sure there will be many battles over toys in the future, but I can see what great friends they will become too. I can’t imagine what has been going on in her little head with all the crazy changes in such a short period of time. New baby, Eddie was gone, new home, etc. She has taken it as well as can be expected with some rough patches here & there. She has done great overall & is settling in to her new big girl room out here in CA.

It was very hard to say goodbye to FL. I am a native there & my dad is under an hour away. His parents lived 4 miles from us. My best friend just moved back to FL & we were planning on raising our girls together. We had great neighbors & a wonderful house. We planted our dream backyard by hand & designed the pool ourselves. It was a sad day when we had to leave. Fortunately, we always said of anywhere in the US that we would want to live, San Diego was the #1 spot.

So far we are loving it out here. The weather is ideal. We love being outdoors. No worrying ab0ut mosquitos, heat, or even that crazy cold front that just passed though FL. We are renting a place less than a mile from the beach. Hopefully, our house will sell soon so we can begin the great house hunt. Riley loves playing at the park by the beach. I am loving all the shops, good waves, great weather. Eddie is really enjoying his new job at Rady. He is also pretty excited about getting to visit his old favorite places to eat out here…..donuts, carne asada burritos, & great fish tacos. Stormy loves visiting the local dog beach & she loves playing frisbee in the park that is right next door to the house.

Needless to say, we have been super busy & life has changed pretty drastically. Besides missing everyone, it is a good change. Riley & Zoe will grow up to be little California surfer girls. Make sure to stay tuned to the blog & change your bookmarks to this new address as well. I am hoping to update at least once a week! Wish us luck as we start our new adventure out here.

-Tristan, Eddie, Riley, Zoe, & Stormy