The life and times of Quinlan Rian

With school in full swing for Katharine and me, it is great to sit back and see all the fun we are able to have with Q. I love coming home and seeing him, and my weekends are totally devoted to him (and grocery shopping, which we usually do together - Katharine sometimes comes too.)

One of Q's words, that he uses frequently, is "draw". He loves to draw and takes whatever instrument he can get. He loves stealing pens, but will use a pencil if he has to. His favorite is Katharine's highlighters, but he also uses his crayons. He has made several pieces while at daycare, which he brings home and shares with us.


He usually draws at his table, but he wanted to draw in the kitchen, so we used his floor mat, which happened to be clean for the occasion. He is holding tight to the highlighter he stole from his Mom (though she gave permission if he stayed on the mat).



We were very happy to have some nicer weather come through this weekend. We let Q decorate the driveway, which he loved.


Another major change around here was the chair switch. We moved from the highchair to a booster chair. During the transition we had a few days of Q trying to eat from a chair, but the temptation to get down and run around was too great, and he didn't really eat a lot.


He likes his new chair and loves being a big boy and eating at the table.



Still reading.....

Q has always enjoyed reading, and we have several other pictures of him enjoying books that have been shared previously. I like this photo, and like several of the other ones here, shows our growing boy as he becomes more boy than baby.



Another new activity Q participates in is shoe stealing. Q loves to get a pair of shoes that Katharine or I leave out. He takes them and walks around in them smiling his happy smile.

He is a wonder. :)

Our very own Dr. Naismith

Q had an eventful Sunday: eating pancakes for breakfast, going grocery shopping with Dad, and then coming home to spend a few hours refining the rules to his own game. For anyone who doesn't know, James Naismith is credited with creating a popular game, too. Maybe Q's game will catch on, and we can license the whole deal and then live a relaxed life on the profits. Even though I sincerely doubt there will be any money involved with this game, it did bring a lot of entertainment, especially while watching him play and being recruited to play with him.

Needed to play:
A ball, the bouncier the better, but any will do. 1 is preferred, but up to 6 various balls of differing bounciness and size were utilized.
Soft foam long things that can be swung and jiggled, one per player.
A box, or five

Playing surface needed:
Hard enough for ball to bounce, but with enough obstacles for it to ricochet around and possibly get stuck or temporarily lost.

Players:
From 1 to 3. Q made it work with 1 but he recruited until he had 3 consistently.

The play:
From a sitting position swing the foam jiggly thingy around until the ball is encouraged to move in any direction. When the ball is out of reach, one player is assigned to retrieve it and restart play. It seemed that this was a steady position which Q, as captain and game creator, claimed for himself--in fact, he shrieked if another tried to go get the ball.

Q, seen here retrieving the ball.

Q, getting set to restart. Notice the squatting position which happens before he sits.

I liked this shot because it caught some of the action, the bouncy green ball in the background. Additional skill is needed if the cabinets on the playing field are left open, causing the ball to bounce inside of them.

Ready to retrieve, again.

Quin's battle cry.
"Come on, lets play round 48."

Lucky for the other players, a break was needed for lunch and a nap. After a long morning round, everyone was ready for the respite and this way, some of us can think about our strategy.

DOS!

We interrupt your regular-scheduled Q blogs with a little exciting news! Dos, our oft-discussed sibling for Q, is in the oven! We're due April 11, though Katharine thinks it'll be an April Fool's baby. Mom and baby are doing well--our midwife, Liane, caught a strong heartbeat on the Doppler, and we did have an early sonogram which showed our little gummy bear hopping and bopping--we didn't have one of these with Quinlan, so at least Dos can say that he (or she) had something of his or her own! :) We're thrilled that Quin'll be a big brother--he already waves to his mama's belly and gives it kisses when prompted. I'm sure he'll have a little attack when it means he has to share attention with another, but what are you gonna do?

Two videos from the doctor: the first shows one of the practice's midwives, Liane, picking up the heartbeat of the little baby. The heartbeat races and is hard to hear over the talking, but it is the steady rhythm on the video. The second video shows the screen from the sonogram; the electronic measurement shows Q's younger sibling is 2.67 centimeters long. It's pretty amazing to think how much growth will happen in the next 7 months. We are so excited that our family is growing.