Imagine that

Quinn gets a kick out of things crashing together. Whether it's toys tipping over, dropping, or running into one another, he giggles. Loud noises, at least the ones that don't frighten him, make him giggle too. You see him flinch ever so slightly and blink, but then he giggles.

This evening Bec was reading Quinn a book in which a group of characters crash into another group of characters, sending them all flying. Quinn got a big giggle out of the picture. There were crash-boom-bang words to go along with them, which usually get a smile out of him too, but the giggles and smiles lasted well beyond the words. I think he was envisioning chaos such as his play situations that make him laugh. Imagine that!

Collective Couch Time

After supper Quinn has a little playtime before bath and bed. Bec often sits on the couch, sometimes I sit on the floor with Quinn, and usually I end up on the couch with Bec too. Quinn, of course, wants to be part of this congregation. We pull him up and he clambers all over us, gives his mom Flying Tackles, and generally has fun.

Tonight we had a rousing game of Fort on the couch. Pulling the blanket over all our heads, Quinn got a big grin on.

It wasn't consciously decided on, but it's happened enough times to be called a pattern now. I have to say I really enjoy it, enough so that I hope to make it a nightly tradition. It's a great way to forget the stresses of the day.

Bath aversions and Books

Quinn has always loved the bath. Suddenly in the last couple of weeks he's started shrieking when Bec lays him down in the bath. We have no idea why. There have been no bath tipovers, water in the eyes, or anything else that would prompt it. Even situp baths elicit minor cries. I wonder what goes through his little head sometimes.

He still just eats up books. He got a couple new ones and he wants them read 17 times per day. I have to say the new development of excessive repeats gets a little tiring for mom & dad, but we realize it's how he learns. I'm just so excited that he can make his own book choices, and that he loves to read so much.

The cure for bad days

Recently we found out that Rebecca's job is being privatized. Today I find out my project at work is in jeopardy, and there is an implied threat of layoffs. Some co-workers were knocking off early and going to the pub. I mulled that over for a second, but decided to go home early instead.

Quinn got two new books today. When I walked in he held one up, looked at me and grunted. I couldn't help but smile. I read him the book and then hung out on the floor with him while he emptied the pantry for the 87th time. Later on he picked up the other new book and crawled across the floor with it for me to read to him.

That, and of course the loving support of Rebecca, is exactly what I'd hoped for when I opted for home over the pub.

Impromptu Pantry Reorg

It's less about toys these days for Quinn, and more about exploring. He got into the pantry cupboard today. Bec observed that it wouldn't be many weeks before we had to relocate some stuff from that cupboard. Try "not many minutes" - before long he had a beer bottle in his hand. Time for an immediate pantry reorg.

Anything at an altitude of 3' or less is not safe. We've had to relocate the phone to prevent inadvertent calls to Yemen. Putting your coffee down is an adventure. The lingering baseboard replacement project has led to some drywall damage at the hand of Quinn. An inquisitive mind is a good thing right? I have to keep reminding myself of that fact.

Sugarbush

We had a great day at Fulton's Sugar Shack today. We met Gramma and Grandpa and Aunt Caitlin there for a great meal. There was a young guy playing fiddle there who was quite good. Quinn was quite taken with the music. Once the lunch rush subsided, some of the staff were doing some step dancing. It was a fun time all around, and Quinn was taking it all in. After that we went for a sleigh ride. The weather was perfect and the people were friendly, and Quinn loved the horses.

Unfortunately Quinn got so keyed up by the whole affair that he wouldn't nap this afternoon. Not in the car, not in his crib once we got home, not even in our bed with us. Oh well - bedtime came early and he held up pretty well in the interim. Hopefully the overtiredness doesn't affect tonight's sleep. It would have to go some to be worse than last night's, waking up half a dozen times. It's frustrating that sleep is still such a struggle after all this time. It's no accident that nature makes kids that cute :)

Yesterday we had a great skate on the canal. Quinn had his first taste of a Beaver Tail. He was quite taken with the whole idea. A lifetime love affair with sugar begins...hopefully it's not at the root of the sleep problems.

Life with Riley

Friends of ours have a son named Riley, who is two weeks younger than Quinn. Quinn is fascinated with Riley. Riley was over for a pre-daycare afternoon recently, and the two of them has a ball together. They're too young to play together, but they followed one another around and Quinn giggled and smiled whenever Riley did anything.

Quinn is always fascinated with other kids, but he seems particularly so with Riley. I theorize that it's because they are so close in age. At this stage, kids differ so much in capabilities for just a small difference in age; Riley is close enough in age to Quinn as to be someone Quinn can really identify with, capability-wise. Riley is taking his first steps - maybe this will be inspirational for Quinn.

While he's interested in other kids, I can't even fathom having him in daycare right now. I'm so glad Bec's staying home for a second year. I guess millions of kids do it and thrive. Riley didn't miss his mom much in his afternoon here, to mixed reactions of his mother. But for us it just doesn't feel right; we would have tried to prep him for it and I'm sure he would have been fine, but it wouldn't have been a natural progression. I guess sometimes we all grow at a natural pace, and sometimes we're thrust into growing, but with the option available to us, why thrust him unnecessarily? In this case, living the life of Riley would not be, for us, the Life of Riley.

Spinerama

Quinn has done this thing for awhile now where he spins around while sitting on the floor, propelling himself around in circles with one foot an stabilizing himself with the other foot. Like the Mars landers, he crawls along, then pulls up and spins to scan the situation, and then continues on.

He's not quite walking. He does get around quite ably by crawling and cruising though. He pushes his dumptruck around lots, and can even maneuver himself a little to get unstuck. As a result, my guess is it'll be a little before he walks just due to lack of necessity. We're not stressing about it. When he's ready, he'll walk.

Where's your tractor?

We're in the kitchen, playing with Quinn's new fridge magnets. I say "where's your new tractor Aunt Caitlin got you for your birthday? Where's your tractor?". He looks at me for a second, and then promptly crawls out to the living room and picks up his tractor from among 20 toys strewn on the floor. Smart kid!

Tonight I had a tired mental slip-up and said to Quinn's of Tulsa's meowing, "I think Tulsa wants Luther to come over and pat her", when I meant to say 'Quinn' instead of Luther. Luther's been gone for almost two weeks but Quinn crawled over to the basement door and looked under the gate, down the stairwell, waiting for Luther. Impressive that he remembers him, but very sad all at the same time.