11/24-11/30
Now that Quinn has gotten the hang of pulling up to his knees, he has taken it to new venues; on my pant leg, on my swivel chair at the lab. He’ll pull up to his knees on the stereo, and then bop to the music, or if there is no music, we take it as a request to put some on. The dancing is a pretty recent development, but now that he is doing it, I can’t ever remember him not having done it. I don’t think I’ve seen anything cuter in my entire life.
Also very cute is the mimicking he is doing lately. He will dance or move his head the same way one of us is doing. He’ll also mimic what we say sometimes, or if we make a sound with our mouth he’ll try to do it, too. He is quite the charmer.
He has taken to listening to multiple books every night before bed. I have memorized i am a mouse, goodnight gorilla, goodnight moon, feely bugs, that’s not my dragon, and a few others. I’m amazed by his attention span, he just seems to love sitting there absorbing the mommy time and watching what comes up on each new page.
Quinn’s newest hobby is opening things- he especially loves to open our cell phones, but he also likes CD and DVD cases a lot. He spends time trying to open things that don’t necessarily open like remote controls, etc.; if he sees that it has a seam, he’ll try prying it open with his beautiful little fingers and thumbs.
12/1-12/7
Quinn dancing at the stereo for music has become a regular daily occurrence.
Our bedtime routine now includes reading books every night before sling time, and it’s been pretty consistent (pat on the back for mom!)
Dad also gets a pat on the back for bringing home a soccer ball one day after work. Quinn is already getting the hang of rolling it back and forth with us. And it only took him a couple of days to say ball! He is actually saying “baaaaaa” but it is clear he is talking about a certain special toy.
12/8-12/14
What an exciting week! Quinn went from being a crawler who occasionally pulled up to his knees, to pulling up to standing all in one week! It’s shocking how quickly he is getting this stuff, we had recently been speculating that it might take him longer to get up off the ground given his weight, especially the weight of his head (no “so i married an axe murderer” comments please! heheh). He proved us wrong. He has always been a quick study, but let’s see… On the 12th he pulled up to standing with his own strength, with dad right nearby for moral support. On the 13th, he did it with mom right there. On the 14th, he stood up about 30 times all by himself as if he had been doing it forever. This is not to say that he has not fallen a couple of times in the past days… he has. But he is getting to be a pretty tough kid, it’s never anything a little milk can’t fix. Sometimes if dad is there and says “whoopsies!” to him when he tumbles, referring to a game they play on the bed together where dada lets quinn roll off of him and “fall” onto the bed, then the fall is all a big laugh. If it’s mom, he’s more apt to cry a little, but i’m sure he sees my look of distress and cues off that- something i need to work on!
Speaking of weight… his weight gain has slowed down some, but his length gain sped up! He all of sudden looks like a lean baby! (Not his cheeks yet, thank goodness!) Susan commented the other day that he seems to be built like his mama, and that is the first time we’ve heard that so far… I think he is stretching out!
Quinn got an early Christmas present from Sheila (dada’s friend from alaska)- shoes! They are the most awesome little hippy moccasin booties you’ve ever seen. They have sheepskin soles, so he has good traction from the leather, and warm fuzzies on his toes, and the boot is crocheted out of rainbow colored wool. THEY STAY ON HIS FEET. I’m amazed. He doesn’t even seem to want to pull them off, it must be that they are just so comfy. They really seem to be adding to Quinn’s standing up efforts, in that they are not slidey like socks. He will stand up by the coffee table, couch, or lounge, and read books to himself, or play with a toy, or drum on things, or dance… he’s like the energizer bunny!
Yet another cousin will be joining the family, we found out dada’s sister Lisa is pregnant, also due in June!
12/13 marked Quinn’s first day wearing 3T overalls (much to mommy’s chagrin!)
I’ve been practicing with Quinn how to get down from the bed or couch safely, by turning over on his tummy and dangling his legs to the floor. (Ever since he fell off the bed that one time…) He is now doing it on his own, and several times this week he just started doing it of his own accord. He might be on my lap on the couch, and just roll to his belly, then get down and then ask to come back up and do it repeatedly. Or he might be in the middle of getting his diaper changed on the bed and scoot over the side before i can catch him- little sneaky pants!
12/15-12/21
12/15 Quinn is so much fun to read to. His current favorite is goodnight gorilla, and there is a page in the book that he loves where all the animals say goodnight-goodnight- goodnight- goodnight- goodnight in different voices. He has started to say “na-na-na-na” during that page (night-night!) which slays me every time. He has also been working on feeding himself- tonight was beans (black/pinto) and spinach and quinoa, from his wooden bowl. He fed himself a good 2 heaping tablespoons of this, using his hands, but holding onto one or two spoons the entire time. He has been enjoying playing with two of anything- spoons, books, bowls, both mommy AND daddy’s cell phones…
12/16 dad’s birthday- Quinn watched dad open presents, then played with all the tags on them. We all went to good will and bought some new books for bedtime, including “children’s treasury” which was quite a score!
12/17 lots of walks.
12/18 We went to the lab today; Quinn has been getting up on all fours today- hands and feet in sort of downward dog position… His sleeping pattern has gotten to be very unpredictable… last night went to bed 9:30, woke up this morning at 7, took cat naps all day (four of them 15 min to an hour long) and then went to bed at 7:30…..
12/19 and woke up at 7 again! A good night’s sleep. Then napped this morning from 8:30-9. Seems like a growth spurt, or at least in terms of development? It is almost as if his body decides at a moment’s notice, ok time to sleep NOW, need to build neurons. He woke up and got up on his knees and started dancing in bed. 🙂 He got a present in the mail from Aunt Lisa, some really cool alphabet block books, some organic vegetable toys, and a shirt with “peace” in many languages.
12/20 Another lab day- lab christmas. Deb gave us a card with owls on it (so thoughtful) and with money inside (very intuitive, she is. Hehe.) Quinn got three new little books- ABC, 123 and Colors. He is now practicing bringing an object with him when he stands up (his spoon, a little book, a toy, etc.)
12/21 We spent the day at Susan’s, taking walks to the playground, eating whole wheat rigatoni on the carpet (luckily no sauce yet), and playing guitars with the boys. Gryphon sang us a lovely rendition of Yellow Submarine. Quinn is really enjoying the rhythm of books- saying “na-na-na-na” or “da-da-da-da” depending on the words. He likes his new little engine that could, especially when I skip over the boring parts and just repeat “I think I can, I think I can” a gazillion times while turning the pages.
12/22 Spent a half hour with dad only this morning while mom went to DMV to renew our registration. Quinn took a big 2 hour plus nap only an hour and a half after waking up. Went with mama to children’s exchange to get some new (mostly) 3T clothes. We ended up buying a really cool wooden abacus that Quinn just loved as soon as we picked it up. Also got 3 extra large diaper covers… he is extra large! Now he is taking another 2 hour nap (and counting) while I work on this. A trip to the grocery store will round out our big day. While helping me in the kitchen earlier, he grabbed the cap of dada’s coffee thermos and pulled it out (it fits inside; it wasn’t screwed on tightly) and then when I moved away from the thermos he leaned way out to get me to go back to it so he could put the cap back on. This sort of thing sticks out to me because mostly when there is a game of some sort to play, Quinn is so far very good at the taking out and knocking down, but not so much at the putting in or stacking up. So having him put the cap back in/on was impressive.
12/23 10 MONTHS we went to target today, of all places to go on almost christmas eve! We had gift cards to spend for the family so we got new flannel sheets for the family bed, a new dvd player, and some music- the traveling wilburys, which quinn loves already. 10 months seems so OLD and GROWN UP. I am amazed how quickly it is all going by!
things only his mama knows… that little patch of blond hair on the back of his head. The mole on his left shoulder blade, right where his mama’s is. The way he doesn’t like it if you try to hold onto his hands.
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