You Have Something On Your Face Quintin

Oh...that's just your giant lower lip.

I don't know about you, but if this isn't the funniest look you've ever seen on a baby, I don't know what is. Grandpa was innocently playing with Quin one day this weekend. Quin was cracking up with glee as usual. Suddenly Grandpa made just the right combination of noise and movement, and INSTANTANEOUSLY, Quin morphed into this:

But Quin and Grandpa reconciled their differences by sundown.

The funny thing is, Quin will do this face on command. Elizabeth and I even discovered that it's not the combination of sound and movement, or even the jerking movement alone. It's the noise. It's really nothing special. If you make a sound like a motorcycle taking off, and changing gears, he makes this face. It only lasts a few seconds and then he's back to smiling and laughing again. I only wish I knew what was going on in that little mind of his. This face makes me laugh so hard, that I think we're going to have to give it a name. Any suggestions?

This is also a good time to mention that this is how I ended up with four cats. I didn't want any cats. Then Elizabeth pulled the lip out until I caved. Now we have four. Looks like Quin inherited the lip, and I'm doomed.

28 new photos added to Quin's Portrait Gallery.

6 new photos added to Quin's Snapshot Gallery.

Quin Meets the Last of His Grandparents Over Thanksgiving

Quin finally got to meet the last of his grandparents over his first Thanksgiving. Carl and Gwen spent the entire week of Thanksgiving with us. While they didn't get to meet Quin when he was a newborn, they were in for a real treat, because Quin has quite the personality these days, being almost four months old and all.

Some of Quin's big accomplishments this week:

• Gaining full command over sucking on just his thumb instead of his whole fist.

• Discovering the joy of playing with toys. He'll play with his little cube for hours without ever getting bored. We can totally ignore him, he could care less.

• Standing up on his feet. From a sitting position, if you grab his hands and give them a tug forward (not upward as if to help), he'll stand right up. He just needs balance help. He'll stand that way for quite some time, laughing and giggling the whole time.
• He seems to have made a sudden forward cognitive leap. Just overnight (literally) he suddenly changed, becoming even more alert, laughing and giggling more (even screaming out in laughter at times). He cries less and laughs more, even at himself. We can put him in his swing, and he'll sit there cracking up at himself for hours without any need for attention. He's become much more expressive. He's becoming a little boy.
  
• Talking. Well, baby talk at least. A couple weeks ago he started making noises, and I predicted that by Thanksgiving he'd have found his voice and would be talking like crazy. Well, the prediction was right on. He's using his voice and loving every sound he makes with it.

Our Fashion Model

Watch out New York and Paris, here comes Quintin. This past weekend, Quin hit the runway as a reindeer in a Babies 'R' Us fashion show. I wouldn't exactly say that he had fun, but he tolerated it and definitely looked adorable!
The only reason we decided to have him participate was to get pictures. He was stuffed into his costume minutes before we were supposed to walk him down the red carpet. Considering the fact that he was in a very warm costume and literally pulled from his meal, he did great.

Only 15 Minutes Per Feeding

Quin has now figured out that he can feed in under an hour. It takes our boy 15 minutes to eat! He decided over the weekend that he no longer wanted to use the nipple shield, which consequently means he can eat very fast. I have to admit that an hour per feeding was crazy. Now it seems a bit weird to be done so quickly. As a result of this sudden change, if Quin wakes up in the middle of the night he is breastfed. I am actually enjoying breastfeeding!

The Best Mother On Earth

Remember when Elizabeth got thrush back at the end of September? How about the mastitis last week? You'd think that she's suffered enough breastfeeding pain so far and should have it easy from here on out, wouldn't you?

Well, you know the story, nothing goes easily for the Texas Solleys. Poor Elizabeth has thrush again. On to another round of antibiotics. I'm amazed that she's still willing to breastfeed Quintin after all the pain she's endured for him. Even the doctor broached the subject of ending breastfeeding, but Elizabeth won't have any of that talk.

This is absolute proof that she is the greatest mother I could ever ask for my son. She's Supermom, and she doesn't even know it. She's Superwife too, the best I could ever ask for.

What's New In Quinville

A lot has been happening with the Captain in the last week or so. Lots of little milestones.

About a week ago, he suddenly discovered that he can use his voice for something other than crying (read screaming). Ever since, especially during playtime, which there is plenty of, he has been making tons of noises. It seems he really likes to hear these alien sounds coming from his milk hole. Know who else really likes to hear them? Yep, mom and dad. At least for now, until he becomes Motor-mouthzilla, then ask me again what we think.

Quin is starting to become a little Mr. Grabbypants. He's enjoying the art of touching things and holding on to them, usually with a surprisingly strong grip for a three month old. This includes his feet if he's sitting in such a way that he can reach them.

Personality! This kid is becoming a little personality machine. He is non-stop smiles and giggles these days, except of course when he's wailing, which is just as entertaining if you ask me. You can walk up to Quin at any time, give him a smile and a tickle, and you will be rewarded with a smile, a laugh, and lots of wiggles. Now I've enjoyed being a dad since the day Quin was born (before that really), but now is when it's really starting to get fun. I have playtime with Quin every night, and I'm not sure who is having more fun. I always put him in my lap propped up on a pillow. He now knows whats going on when I get him situated for playtime, as he instantly starts to laugh and squirm because he knows what's coming. I love it!

We're trying out a new online photo album service from Google. We decided that we're just going to have to maintain both the Kodak service for ordering prints and another so that everyone can see them (some can't see the pictures on the Kodak service). Give it a look. One nice thing about this service is that you can download the full size pictures to your computer so that you can go get your own prints, use them as desktop wallpaper, or whatever you want. Let us know what you think of the service.

What’s Next?

Every day it seems that Quin is doing something new. Most of these things are not a big deal to most people, but to us first time parents, these things are huge!!

Quin is getting much better at keeping his head up. He still doesn’t like to do tummy time on his mat, but if he is lying on my chest, he is usually happy as a clam.

About three weeks ago, Quin started to roll over from his tummy to his back. He has only done it a few times (and I am sure those few times were by accident), but I now know that he can do it.

Last week, Quin grabbed his toes while sitting on me. He was obviously fascinated by the fact that he could touch his toes with his own fingers. I was pretty impressed that he was actually grabbing them! (Granted, he hasn’t made any attempt at finding his toes again, so it was probably an accident.) The newest step in Quin's advancement as a tiny human came yesterday. I was attempting to get him to nurse when he realized that I, mom, am the milk machine. This has opened up a whole new set of problems with nursing (he would rather stare at me and laugh than eat), but I love it. There now seems to be more of a connection forming between Quin and I. I can see why moms love breastfeeding.

3 Months in the Blink of an Eye

I can’t believe that Quin is three months old today. It seems like the time has gone by so fast. Everyday I look at him and am amazed at how fast he is growing and how big he is! Before we know it, he is going to be walking, talking, and asking for the car. In a small way, I am already starting to miss him being a newborn. On the other hand, every new stage we reach is more fantastic than the previous. I love being a mom!