Quinlan was so excited about his Mom's birthday that he wanted to immediately wear the shoes she got from her sister. Q loves wearing giant shoes.
Sunday we were able to visit with some friends and go to a pumpkin patch. Q has been very interested in pumpkins and points them out wherever he sees them. It was fun to watch him surrounded by pumpkins and see him run around from one around to another and then back again.
"These are my size! I can pick them up!"
Q kept returning to see the face on the only artificial item in the place.
Before we went to see the pumpkins, we stopped in to visit Michele and her crew and their litter of cats. Quin followed a few around meowing at them and was very happy to pet and even hold Skipper when he was handed him. Talk about precious!
Q helped his Mom celebrate her 30th birthday by taking care of packing materials.
Clean-up was never this much fun.
He is always a treat and was very good about sharing some of the attention with his Mom today. He started off early by helping me run out to get breakfast. Q took some time to fill out the card I got for him to give to his Mom. He signed his scribble on all four surfaces of the card. It was fun.
Katharine and I went for our second appointment today to check on how both she and the little growing baby are doing.
Jared learned the there is much less information at appointments for second pregnancies. The first time around I didn't know what questions to ask; this time around I don't have any questions. Katharine is doing great, though a little (a lot?)tired. But that is probably mostly from working and being Q's Mom all the time, plus the fact that Q is resisting my clock lessons and insists on waking up at horribly early times every day of the week - even the weekend. Maybe I should start teaching him how to read the calendar, too.
It was nice to see Lisa today. Lisa was the midwife that spent the evening with us the night Q was born. As I fought to stay awake, and Katharine experienced labor, Lisa was a calm presence, ready to assist and guide us. Interesting how you will never really be close to a person like that, but there will always be a connection.
Listen to Dos's heartbeat. A strong healthy heart. Lisa said the baby was moving around like a wild person....which doesn't bode well for trying to teach Q's younger sibling how to sleep in.
We are scheduled to go in for the next appointment, which will include a sonogram to determine the sex of the baby, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Until then it will be back to the regular Q updates.
Quinlan has been growing into his awesome Vancouver Olympics sweatshirt. Q's Quatchi sweatshirt came from his Pops and Nona Stina, who attended The Games last winter. He proudly wore his namesake on his chest in the morning, since we have experienced some wonderfully cooler weather here in Austin.
Quin is an avid reader like both of his parents. He frequently brings books to one of us to read to him, and then he often takes the book to the other one to have it reread. Cuddling and reading are favorite pastimes for us all.
Before going out last Saturday, Q played with his reflection in the mirror. He still seems to love watching himself and often finds a surface that reflects to play with.
Q went out with us on Saturday to attend the local Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce Expo. He did well spinning promotional wheels at various tables, but really loved people-watching, as long as the person he was watching had a dog with them.
After a long morning, filled with many cool new toys, Q clung to his Mom and didn't want to explore the cool big trucks that were at the Expo. Maybe next year.
I didn't get a photo of it, but Q "borrowed" a deck of cards for the card game, Phase 10, tonight and ripped open the box to play with the cards. I avoided my initial response of frustration, picked up the cards and showed him some that were similar, explaining that we promise to teach him when he gets just a little older. The box says 8 years old, but I think he will be ready before then. It was very cute, and he even did okay when I took them away. Of course, his Mom suggested we feed the fish immediately thereafter, so that probably made everything better.
It always seems like the weekends are too short, even when Q tries to stretch them out by waking up extra early. Saturday I heard him waking up and noticed that there was still a 4 on the clock - before the colon. In his defense, it was almost 5, but still way too early. I am working on teaching him how the two hands on the clock touch a little after 6:30.
Anyway, even with the extra couple of hours we get to spend together, the time seems so short. He keeps growing and changing, so it was fun to look back on some photos that I hadn't uploaded to see what we have been up to.
I got some free Clifford stickers at school, which I knew Q would love. He carries his Clifford book around with him and calls it the "DeDog". We think he is saying, "red dog," but only he really knows. Anyway, he did love the stickers, until they had to come off.
We also got a new vacuum, not very exciting. We have a nice carpet vacuum, and had been using a Mini-ShopVac to suck up the debris from the tile and the edges of rooms. It worked great, except the cord and hose were both pretty short. Alas, it gave up the ghost. We found this Eureka on sale at Target, and it really does as good a job as the ShopVac ever did, with more convenience. Plus, it has the added bonus of an adjustable handle, so Q can use it with more ease - that boy loves a good vacuuming.
We were very lucky to have a dear friend come for a visit. Jenni spent several days chilling with Q and he loved every minute of it. He was calling her "Neni", which he said like, "knee-knee" and loved the extra attention that he got.
Halloween Oreos, with orange cream filled yummyness-can't go wrong there!
If you haven't seen the Muppet version of "Mahna Mahna" please stop what you are doing and watch it below. We are very careful about not watching TV with Q around. However, we are allowing him about 3 online videos a day, giving him between 5-10 minutes of "screen time." I know, we are horrible parents rotting out his brain, and some day his teacher will probably blame all the horrible things that may go wrong on the accumulated hours of videos. Really, we have a great time, and often sing Mahna Mahna several times through the day. In case you were wondering, I do the "do do, dodo" part, and he gets the cool one.
PETS!!??!!!
We finally broke down. It was clear Q wanted and needed a living creature smaller than him in the house. He loves animals so much and talks about them almost as much as he talks about balls (which is a lot). So, with much planning and preparation, we acquired some Tetras.
Here we are, watching our new friends. He is very intent to sit and watch and sometimes point.
Not the best photo in the world, but shooting through glass is not a photo-trick I have learned. We set up a small aquarium and have 5 Mini-Neon Tetras in it. We aren't sure if we are going to name them anything, since I can't tell them apart. Maybe Q can.
Here is a fuzzy Q, with his new fish swimming along in the background.
It has been a great week weather-wise here in Austin, and Q is loving the extra time outside. The neighborhood is sprouting Halloween decorations, and we have chalk drawings all over our driveway. It is a good time to be a Dad.
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.
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.
Before we went to see the pumpkins, we stopped in to visit Michele and her crew and their litter of cats. Quin followed a few around meowing at them and was very happy to pet and even hold Skipper when he was handed him. Talk about precious!
