Baby Watch 2008

Quentin Attends Cousin Trina’s Graduation

Cousin Trina has been taking classes in Los Angeles over the past eleven months, so we have had a chance to see her quite a bit.  On Sunday, December 14, she graduated from the Black HIV/AIDS Institute.  Congresswoman Maxine Waters was the honored speaker for the graduation and she took a liking to Quentin.  As you can see, Quentin is trying to figure out who Maxine is, while also admiring her red glasses.  Cousin Shaunte was in attendance too and was taking all of the pictures.  We are happy for Trina as she continues on to earned her Master’s/PhD in Philadelphia.  We are sure that Trina will still come out to Los Angeles to visit often.

Posted by Allen on 12/14 at 02:43 PM

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Quentin Visits Santa Claus

Quentin went to visit Santa Claus for the first time today.  We had been planning to take Quentin to the Beverly Center so he could take a picture with “HUNKY” Santa (yes, only in LA), but instead we only had time to see the traditional “full-figured” Santa.  Quentin didn’t seem too excited about sitting on Santa’s lap - as you can see he was sleeping heavily and did not wake up for his photo.  More Christmas pics to come as we head to Virginia for the holidays!

Posted by Allen on 12/06 at 03:24 PM

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Quentin’s first Thanksgiving

Here is a picture of Quentin and part of his California family for his first Thanksgiving.  He LOVED the stuffing and twice-baked potatoes!  He is now eating some regular food and loves it.  We all had a wonderful meal at Uncle Gary’s!

Posted by Stuart on 11/28 at 08:00 AM

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Quentin’s First Halloween

Quentin just had his first Halloween.  While we didn’t go trick or treating, we did have our own little party.  We think he looked too cute in his bear outfit.  Next year, we’ll make sure others besides his Daddies see him!

1.  The Bear Walks

2.  The Bear Sits

3.  The Bear Crawls.  Yes, Mr. Quentin is now crawling everywhere.  It’s kind of a tummy crawl/scoot but it gets him where he wants to go!

4.  The Bear Claws Daddy Stuart.

5.  The Bear Smiles with Daddy Allen.

We hope you enjoy the pictures.  Quentin wishes his Grandma Dulcenia a wonderful trip next week to Germany and Paris!  He can’t wait until she takes him!  He loves her so much!!!

Posted by Stuart on 11/01 at 06:08 PM

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New Pics of Q!

Sorry that I have fallen behind in putting up new pictures of Q.  He changes every day.  He’s such a happy and fun boy!  Here’s a few recent pics!

1.  Can you say CUTE?!?!

2.  Quentin loves his cousin Lauren!  And, she loves him back!

3.  Daddy Stuart put together Quentin’s favorite new toy!  He’s a wild boy when he jumps!

4.  Q and Lauren like to hang out.

Enjoy!  I’ll get more up soon!

Posted by Stuart on 10/04 at 08:10 PM

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New Orleans for Grandma’s 90th Birthday!!!

In September, we had the best time going to New Orleans to celebrate my adopted mom’s 90th birthday!  We had taken the family there for her 85th and she loved it so much that we promised to go back for her 90th.  Of course, this trip was a little bigger since our family has grown with new in-laws and babies! 

Mom had the best time and we made some really special memories including visiting the aquarium, Mardi Gras museum, a steam boat jazz dinner cruise, and amazing dinner at August in a penthouse just for us!  Here are some pics:

1.  Grandma Irma, the birthday girl, with her two latest family additions:  Quentin and Hunter!

2.  Quentin with “the cousins” Lauren, Hunter, and Cheyenne.

3.  Quentin with his daddies at the aquarium.

4.  Quentin shares some small talk at the birthday dinner.

We hope we’ll be going back from mom’s 95th!

Posted by Stuart on 09/15 at 07:44 PM

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Cute Cousins

We just got back from another great weekend in Palm Springs with family.  Here’s a cute picture of Quentin and his cousin Lauren and Daddy Allen! 

Posted by Stuart on 09/01 at 07:54 PM

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Pool Time in Palm Springs

We had a wonderful time this past weekend at Uncle Gary’s house in Rancho Mirage.  Quentin LOVES the pool and has the best time.  Here are a few photos of the happy fella!  Thanks to Aunt Joy for the great pictures!

1.  Quentin shares the pool fun with his cousin Lauren who takes good care of her younger cousin. 

2.  Quentin is all smiles as he splashes around.

3.  Quentin screams with delight as he plays in the water.

Quentin can’t wait for you all to come visit and go swimming with him!

Posted by Stuart on 08/17 at 07:23 PM

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Our Surrogate Angel Visits Q

Okay...so I know that I still owe you two more trips...Heidi’s wedding in San Francisco and our trip to Mexico.  But, today was a special day and I wanted to get this picture up right away.  Our surrogate, Lorisha, stopped by to visit Quentin and it was really special to see the two of them together.  It is hard to believe that less than six months ago, Q was still resting comfortably inside Lorisha.  When he came out to see her today, he just smiled and smiled and I think he recognized her voice.  She held him and they talked.  It was a moving moment to know that this woman was so instrumental in making our dreams of a family come true.  So, thank you Lorisha for all that you did for us...and thank you for still being such a wonderful surrogate angel for little Q.  And, can we say how beautiful she looks!  Just like a movie star!

Posted by Stuart on 08/11 at 08:22 PM

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Quentin Goes to Mexico

Quentin took his first trip out of the country at the end of July.  He even had to have his own Passport!  He had a great time on the plane and visiting with his new friends at the Admiral’s Club at LAX.  He even saw David Beckham but he wasn’t that impressed!

We stayed at the beautiful Westin Resort in Los Cabos and had a week of just relaxing and being a family.  Everyday, Quentin took walks and went swimming.  And, of course, slept, ate, played, and pooped!  It was...heaven!

Here are some pics of the trip:

1.  Daddy and Q share some quality time at the hotel restaurant!

2.  Daddy and Q have fun with his boat in the pool.  Quentin LOVED the boat because he can sit in it and be in control and splash and splash and splash!

3.  Q hangs out with his dads in the pool.

4.  The Miller-Bell men are ready for a night on the town.

5.  Q makes friends whereever he goes but was especially keen on Paula, one of the managers at the hotel.  And, we think she was smitten too.  She even sent Quentin cookies and milk to our room!

It was a great trip and we look forward to many more with Mr. Q.

Posted by Stuart on 08/01 at 07:08 PM

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Heidi and Jason’s Wedding

Quentin’s next flight was to San Francisco for the wedding of my niece Heidi to Jason.  The wedding was beautiful and held outside at a country club.  Of course, the bride was gorgeous and blushing as she should be!  Lots of relatives and friends were there.  And, on Saturday we had a really great BBQ at my sister Holly’s house in Union City.  For those of you who may be trying to figure out how I have another niece and sister you haven’t heard about, let me explain.

My best friend Gary and I are very close.  For his mother Irma’s 85th birthday five years ago, we decided to take the entire family to New Orleans to celebrate.  It was an amazing weekend and at her birthday dinner, Miss Irma stood up and announced that she had decided to adopt me as her son and had an “official” certificate that the entire family had signed.  So, I now have a California family and they are all just the best. 

All of the festivities of the wedding were wonderful.  But, most of all, we are so happy for Heidi and Jason and their son, Jason Jr.  We wish them all the best in their new lives together and can’t wait to spend more special times together.

Here are some of the pictures:

1.  The Happy Couple greets the world for the first time as Mr. and Mrs!

2.  Allen, Quentin and Stuart pose for a photo.  Allen is looking way cool with his dark shades!

3.  Mom, Stuart, and Gary share a smile at the reception.

4.  Quentin shares a dance with Daddy.

Posted by Stuart on 07/18 at 05:43 PM

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Wild Wonderful West Virginia!!!

So, Quentin’s next stop on the East Coast trip was to tour Daddy’s company in Wheeling, West Virginia.  Q was most interested in talking to the staff of Growing Generations and making sure that they were safeguarding his future college fund!  It was another great trip and he was a real road warrior on this trip as he had to fly on a small jet with....hold your breath....no first class!  And, Daddy Stuart was all alone so that put a little fear in his eyes but by the end of the flight he realized that he could get everything he wanted from one parent just as easily as he could from two.

Q had a wonderful time in West Virginia which kicked off with a party at Jeanne Marie’s house and ended with a wonderful dinner that was attended by almost all of the team.  Of course, he couldn’t enjoy all of the amazing food but he made notes for when he would return about the things he wanted to try (like that amazing fried fish sandwich that Daddy had with Dr. Kim who also came to visit this wonderful city).

When it comes to pictures, we had many!  So, to be fair to everyone, I am only including the ones that were flattering of both Quentin and his holder.  So, if you were left out, we’ll try to get a good shot on the next trip.

1.  Miss Sherri was Q’s special friend.  We think she has just a little crush on him!

2.  Miss Heidi gave him two thumbs up--and she knows babies!

3.  Miss Kayla knew Quentin before he was even born as she was his Daddies’ case coordinator during the surrogacy process and made sure that he entered the world with a big splash!

4.  Okay...so this isn’t a great picture but it is a funny one.  Miss Ann got a laugh out of Q after this but had to put up with the cry first.

5.  Some of the finance team explains the finer details of GG’s accounting.  Jamie and Craig had just gone over an exhaustive analysis with Q.

6.  Q had the best babysitter while Daddy was at work.  Here he shares a yawn with Cassie who took very good care of him.

Well, that’s it for our Wheeling trip.  Next up, a wedding in San Francisco!!!

Posted by Stuart on 07/07 at 07:16 PM

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Quentin Has a Big Family Time in Richmond!!!

The next stop on Quentin’s Family Tour was Virginia Beach and Richmond.  We spent our first night at Aunt Teri’s in Virginia Beach and then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Bell’s the next day.  We spent five days surrounded by love and family and....lots of food....lots and lots of food!  Quentin is still just eating formula but when he gets ready to eat real food, there is no place like Grandma and Grandpa’s. 

We had lots of fun activities and saw so many family and friends.  We took lots of pictures and apologize that we didn’t include every picture we took.  This is a good sample of some of the wonderful times that Q had on his first trip to Virginia.

1.  Aunt Teri gets the first night and first kisses from Quentin!

2.  Great Aunt Marian has a chat with Q about the family.

3.  Great Grandmother Marion welcomes Q to the family.

4.  Our friends Coy and Todd share a bottle with Q.

5.  Four Generations of Bell Men.

6.  Great Aunt Joyce shares some love with little Q.

7.  Great Aunt Marian and Uncle Rudy get some quality time with Q.

8.  Cousin Dawna shares a laugh with Q.  What was she telling him?

9.  The Grandparents and Q get ready for a night out on the town.

10.  Q makes a new friend in Rey at a wonderful dinner hosted by his parents Hattie and Reggie and their beautiful daughter Britney.

11.  Cousins Marla and David get a closeup with Q.

12.  Cousins Morlon, Mara, and Loren got to share some big love with Q.

13.  Q hangs with the younger generation--his cousins Maya, Wayne, JC, and Danielle.

14.  Cousin Tyra loved her Q time at the River House on the 4th of July.

15.  Miss Louise shows some love to Q at the River.

16.  Our friend Mark shows Q how to strike a pose.

17.  Cousin Paula hangs with Q at the River.

18.  Quentin loves his Great Aunt June.  She makes him laugh and knows how to get him to sleep!

19.  Cousins T’na and Marcus share a smile with Q.

20.  Q scores a touchdown with his Auntie Clara.

21.  Cousin Cheryl says Goodbye to Q at the airport in Richmond.

Next stop...Wheeling, West Virginia.  This boy knows how to travel!

Posted by Stuart on 07/04 at 07:12 PM

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Quentin’s Big Trip—First Stop--Murfreesboro, TN

First of all, apologies that this is so late getting posted.  It is actually August 3rd today but I have dated this June 28th which is when it should have gone up.  I have lots to post and catch up on so let’s not waste any time!

Quentin took his first plane ride on a big trip back East to see family and friends.  He was great on the plane (of course, who doesn’t enjoy First Class)!  Our first stop was Murfreesboro, TN, where I grew up.  We stayed at my brother and sister-in-law’s house (Monty and Barbara) and their youngest son, Will, who is 8 years old.  I must apologize because of all the pictures you are going to see, for some strange reason we didn’t get any of Monty or Barb with the baby.  Barb is already on the blog because she came out and stayed with us when Quentin was first born.  But, I can’t believe we didn’t get any with Uncle Monty!  My brother is so great with babies and Quentin was no exception.  So, next time, we’ll get lots of pictures with them both!  Monty and Barb have a beautiful home and we felt like we were at a spa hotel!  And, of course, Barb cooked up a storm so we ate way too much good food which is always nice!

We were able to see lots of family and friends.  We didn’t get pictures of everyone but please know how wonderful it was to see all of you.  Quentin loved you all! 

Here’s some of the pictures we did get for your enjoyment.

1.  The Best Friends:  Sue, Donna, Donna’s daughter Mady holding Q, me and Jamie.  We were all the best of friends in college and beyond.  It was great to be back together again which doesn’t happen too often due to our busy lives. 

2.  My sister Abby holding Q while her daughter Ava looks on.  Abby’s daughter Ava is 18 months old and so adorable.  She looks just like Abby.

3.  My sister Amy is all smiles with Q.  Amy is a natural with babies just like Monty!  Q loved her.

4.  My grown nephew Justin (yes, Monty and Barb started early) with his beautiful, smart, amazing girlfriend MacKenzie (can you tell we like her a lot—no pressure Justin)!

5.  My nephew Will strikes a pose with his cousin Q.  Right after we snapped this, Will threw his hands in the air and Q fell backwards on the bed as he didn’t realize that his arm was Q’s sole support.  It was too funny! 

6.  Barb’s adorable sister Allison came over for a visit with Q.  We also got to see both of Barb’s parents, Barbara and Wayne, but forgot to take pictures.  It was great spending time with them.

7.  The Boys are Back in Town:  Allen, my nephew Will, me, and one of my best friends and roommate from college Jeff with his son Sam.  I think we are a pretty handsome group of guys.  This was taken outside of my favorite country cooking restaurant in Murfreesboro called Clearview Cafe!

Well, that’s it for Murfreesboro.  Next stop is Richmond, Virginia to visit the Bell-Williams clan!

Posted by Stuart on 06/28 at 02:52 PM

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The Latest Pics

All you parents will completely understand the joy in which I say this--Quentin started sleeping through the night 2 weeks ago!  That’s right, like a miracle, he went from getting up twice during the night to sleeping from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.  It is life changing and his two daddies are very thankful!  Yes, it is selfish but we are sure that Quentin enjoys his full night of sleep almost as much as his daddies do!

We also have to say what a joy our little guy is.  He is so good-natured.  He loves people and loves to roll with his daddies.  He is a big talker now, although we can’t quite make out what he is saying.  He is so alert and so wonderful!  He is also quite the big boy and seems to grow more everyday. 

So, here are some of the latest and greatest pics!

1.  Our good friend Olivier came over for a few weeks from France.  Olivier is a professional photographer and took the pictures at our ceremony plus some shots of Q and Allen. 

2.  This is my favorite!  Can we say beautiful smiles!

3.  Bath time or Superhero? 

4.  Cousin Makonnen has some swing time with Q.  We are very excited that he is moving to LA in a few weeks!  Quentin needs a new babysitter so his daddies can go to a movie!

5.  Aunt Connie gets some Q time!  We think she really liked it!

6.  Our friends Lynlee and Pax stopped by for a visit all the way from Wichita Kansas!  Little Pax did a great job reading to Q.  We think he is smitten! 

7.  Cousin Trina came by today for brunch and a visit with her favorite boyfriend, Mr. Quentin!  We are so lucky that she’s had so many business trips to LA this year!  We want her to move here!!!

8.  Our friends Lee and Paul came by today for a visit with Little Q.  Lee made the most amazing Afghan for Quentin.  It was so nice to have them visit!

Posted by Stuart on 06/01 at 07:56 PM

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