Next up . . . Spaghetti Squash

New food! Spaghetti squash! Somehow, I convinced Jared to cut the video before it hit the ten-minute mark . . . We've also seen tooth #2; sadly, it's not the other incisor (which would give him a vampire-style grin), but the lower left front tooth. I won't be surprised if three or four others arrive shortly.
Hope everyone's doing well. Lots of love and slobber from the little guy!

Sitting Up . . . . .

So when I picked Quinlan up from daycare on Wednesday (this is Katharine, by the way), I talked to Andria a little about what he'd been up to. She said she'd helped him sit up by himself during the day, so I figured that trying to replicate her success would be a productive way to spend my afternoon, since Jared had a training until 7. I grabbed the video camera (what modern momma wouldn't publicize her baby's milestones?), and we got up on the bed. There were some interesting shots while we were getting set up, but he performed like a champ! He's really starting to ham it up for the camera a little more--a far cry from his used-to-be-shy-in-front-of-the-camera self.
Enjoy it! We're definitely enjoying him, and we're looking forward to sharing him with my aunts and uncle this weekend and hopefully, more family during the fall!

The Tooth

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog viewing with the following news update.

Sweet Potato

We have been introducing different foods for a little while and learning about feeding the little man. Katharine, who does a lot of the reading and then summarizes for me, shared about experiential eating. As an adult, I love food and eating experiences; there are only few things I enjoy better than going to a new restaurant (or cooking) and enjoying fancy flavors mixed together. I love the experiences you can have with and around food. As a semi-psuedo-neurotic clean freak, I was not so sure how I felt about Q experiencing his food. He needs to be fed right?

Anyway, the book (Super Baby Food - very interesting and good, I have actually read some of it and no, we are not getting anything for free or money for endorsing the book, though we both love Amazon and will be glad to take anything they offer for advertising and endorsing them) talks about introducing new foods to Q to make sure that he is not allergic and to get him to taste different things. It also talks about how he is learning about food and eating in general - hence the experiential eating. Now, instead of trying to neatly get all the food in his mouth without ever letting any of it touch his bib, I am glad to say he happily spreads it everywhere. He even uses his own spoon to spread said food everywhere.

The video is 11 minutes. It is all of him eating. I am talking to him, too, and he talks back some, but mostly you can just watch the sweet potatoes spread out across his face. This was his first time eating, oh, excuse me, experiencing sweet potatoes, and he certainly experienced it. I know some of you don't have the time or the interest to watch 11 minutes of a baby eating; try skipping all the way to the end where I zoom in and show his happy, sloppy, sticky, smiling face.



Note: the video was from Monday evening. Katharine fed him on Tuesday, and he was just as happy to spread the sweet potatoes all over his face. Just in case anyone is wondering, this is real sweet potato, cooked, peeled and pureed, not stuff out of a cute little jar. Not knocking the little jarred food, or saying we won't ever use it, but cooking, blending, and refrigerating sweet potato was pretty easy, and we are happy to be letting Q experience good old fashioned home-cooked meals.

Singing and Playing

This video doesn't really need much of an introduction, but most people realize that I can't pass up a chance to add my own commentary.
This one, to me, really shows some of the growth and changes that Q has made. He is certainly working on getting more and more verbal. He is also getting much more capable with his hands, though I am not sure his attention is growing very long; he learned to spin around pretty easily in his exersaucer, but that means he doesn't stick to any one activity for very long.

I love the look he gives me when I ask about his duck (a picture on the book). It is like I am interrupting him, and then he glares at me: hilarious.

A Happy Half-Birthday

I realized a few weeks ago, as we approached Q's six month birthday, that he was born on my brother's, his Uncle Jay's, half-birthday. So, today Jay celebrated his birthday, and Q celebrated his first half-birthday. A very exciting moment. Happy Birthday Jason.


Yes, I know I look like a complete goof, but what can I say. At least Q and Jason looked good.

Q got to go see Dr. Eady today for his half-birthday. He had a little check-up and the final round of shots for his first immunization series. He weighed in at 18 lbs 3 oz, he was 28 inches long, and his head is 17.13 inches around. All in all, she said he is doing very well, and even the doctor commented about his size, which seems to be larger than it really is.

The medical assistant measures Q's head, while he tries to eat the measuring tape. Hhhmmmmm, measuring tape!


Mom needed to get some cuddles in!



We couldn't let his six-month birthday go by without taking the regular photos.

Yes, he is eating his monkey laying backwards over his boppy.


Working on sitting up.


I love that smile and laugh.


It's been six fun months filled with tons of memories and some sleepless nights followed by sleepy days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hairdos and Baths

It is a lot of fun watching Q grow and develop. One of the noticeable changes recently has been his sprouting hair.
The other day, Katharine gave him the funky baby mohawk.



Then this evening, after tugging his hat off he was sporting a look that reminded me a lot of Bill Murray - think crazy Caddyshack days.




Q has also greatly been enjoying his bath time. He plays and smiles, kicks and splashes, eats bubbles and chases his ducky.



Check out the action with the leg.


You can tell he really like to eat the bubbles, too. :)

Food, part two - Bananas!!!!!

After a week of trying out avocados, we started smashing up some banana for Q to eat. On the first day, he made some of the most hilarious, disgusted faces, none of which were caught on the camera. He looked rather surly. On the second day, though, he seemed to enjoy it much more and gobbled down all of them.

He has been very fun at meals. He is interested in the food and likes to chomp his non-toothy gums up and down like he is chewing. He also grabs at the spoon and loves to hold it and jam it into his mouth. He has big, food-covered, goofy grins and is lots of fun. If you are in the area and want to wear some of his dinner, feel free to stop over and check it out.

Scooching

Mommy blog #3: Scooching.
So, Jared and I are basically back at school. I'm still in the prep phases, but we've both been working full-time all week. Q's loving day care from what I can tell, and here's a little video of what's he's been working on at home. He's able to get his knees up under his body and his booty in the air, though he's not proficient by any means. A couple of times he has definitely moved--though we're not always sure how. :) He is a little joy. :)

Day care and avocados

Q started attending his daycare full-time this week. He has been getting top marks for agreeableness, behavior and eating. This is a little bittersweet for Katharine and me, because while we recognize the importance of having him in a safe place while we are both working, we both really wish we could stay home with him and "hang out" the way we have been able to the past few months. Now I get to brag about him at work and look forward to coming home to his precious smile.
He is staying with Ms. Andria and Mr. Craig during the day. We have known them for several years (Katharine met them through the swim team), and Q seems to enjoy both of them. Here Q is hanging with Mr. Craig as Katharine drops him off.


In addition to the other changes, we have started giving some mashed-up avocado to Q as well. He seemed a little hesitant on the first day, but by the second he was totally into the experience. He seems to be enjoying it, and it is fun to watch him chew and lick his lips. I am adjusting to the "feeding mess" but seeing his enjoyment with each bite helps me not fret so much.


Sometimes fingers are just as easy as utensils.


Doing it all by himself--he does love that spoon.


The aftermath. We may need more washcloths.

Visiting

Over a 9 day period, Q accompanied Katharine and me on a journey that started with a drive to Dallas for a visit with Grandma MJ and Grandpa Roy. After a few days there, we hopped a plane to Pennsylvania where Q met many new relatives and friends. Flying back to Dallas, Q got peeked upon by his Aunt Liz as well as the Dallas grandparents. I say peeked upon because after he fell asleep in the plane, we went from the airport and drove back home to Austin. Of course, just like his daddy, upon getting put down in his own bed, Quinlan let out a little squeal of delight.

The following depicts the many people Q met and visited with along the way.


Dancing with Grandpa Roy


Reading with Grandma MJ


Chilling with Uncle Jason


Sitting with Great-Grandmother Mammy


Learning how to eat his feet with Great-Aunt Heidi


Q loved rocking with Mossil on her front porch.


Fossil took Q exploring in the backyard, where they filled bird feeders and watched the birds.


Quin got to meet Jessie, the daughter of our friends Sean and Diane. She is 2 months older than him. (Q is clearly into the older ladies.)


Here Q is meeting Steve, his Dad's oldest friend. Not that he is old, they've just known each other a long time.


Even with everything going on, Pops had big smiles for little Q.


Great Grandmother Mom-Mom talking with Quinlan and Katharine.


Great Grandfather Pop reliving memories from 60 years ago.


Four generations of Stevenson Men.


Aunt Elena, proudly holding the little man.


OK, so family connections experts can correct me, but this is Q's cousin, once removed, Jennifer.


Another cousin, once removed, Jamie.


Yet another cousin, once removed, Jillian.


Great-Uncle Stan.


Great-Aunt Sue.


Great-Uncle Barry.


Sitting with Nona Stina.


Q got to meet Pops' cousin Judy. That makes her a first-cousin, twice removed, we think.


Q's Great-Aunt Meg, the only Pennsylvania relative from Katharine's side of Q's family.


Mom and Dad had their first "post-Quinlan" date immediately following the first day back. "Aunt" Patty and Devon got to hang out with the little man. He enjoyed his night with the babysitters.


Q back at home, wearing his trendy new outfit from Jenni. Ahhh, Ed Hardy . . . .

His head only spun from the overwhelming number of people a few times. There were a couple of friends who Q met, but with whom he didn't pose with for a photo. It is so great watching people interact with Quin. His smile is infectious and his laugh is hilarious, and he rolls over nearly on command. He is definitely better than cable.

First Flight

Q did awesome flying. He very happily played on the airplane and was very entertaining to other passengers. Many people suggested that Q suck something during altitude changes in order to help equalize his ears. It was quite funny to see the flight attendant during take-off stop and check the empty car seat, and then look around. You could see her mind working over the possibility that there had been a baby here but where was it now. Pointing to his feet sticking out from underneath the feeding tent seemed to relieve her worry.

We were very happy to have the extra seat for him, even when he didn't really use it. We had lots of space to move around and store some of our multiple bags. With all of the travel restrictions today, traveling with a baby was fairly easy. TSA officials helped with the x-ray machine in both Dallas and Philadelphia, as we ran multiple bags, the car seat, the stroller, and the bag of expressed milk through the machine, as well as shoes, jackets, computers, and cell phones. It is amazing how many things were needed to travel with the little man. He probably didn't use most of it, but it was nice to be prepared.