Fun Times With Old Stuff

Yesterday, we picked up some old toys of mine for Quin. These were things that my cousin (Adam) had used when he was little, and years before that I had gotten hours of enjoyment from.

A friend of my mom's recently moved to Longmont, CO, from Knoxville, TN (where my cousin happens to live). Since they had a moving truck coming this way, we figured why not let a few toys hitch a ride. I really wasn't sure if Quin was ready for the rocking horse, nor was I sure if Quin would like the little chair I had, but it was worth a try!

This morning, as soon as Quin woke up, we walked straight out of his room and climbed into the rocking chair. He loved it (although you can't really tell from this video)!


After spending a little time trying to figure out how the horse went together, it was good to go. Once it was together, Quin insisted on going for a ride; he knew exactly what to do!


The hardest part was getting him off of the horse to go take a nap! This video is a little long, but so cute!

Wildlife!

Now that spring is in high gear, the wildlife has been coming out of the woodwork. Or at least the woods.

Tonight on the way home, Elizabeth spotted a couple of foxes about half way up the driveway. We stopped to took a look, and discovered that right next to the driveway is a fox den where a mother and at least three baby foxes are living. Knowing it's there now, it's totally obvious that it's a den, though we never noticed it before. While we sat and watched, mom sat on a rock while all three babies nursed. It was awesome.

I went back down with the camera to catch some of the action. Unfortunately it was getting dark and the babies had scattered. But I stuck around and managed to get shots of two of the youngsters as they cautiously went back to the den. They were incredibly curious about me, which I've also discovered on previous encounters. Both of the cubs cautiously but curiously approached me to sneak by and get to their den. They really had no problem coming within just a few feet of me. Naturally when they did, I took their picture.

I'll be going back down to take more pictures in the coming days. Tonight was tough because of the low light.

We've also got a lot of hummingbirds and finches coming around. We put up a few bird feeders and they've been going totally nuts! Our finch feeder that we brought from Texas regularly has 8-10 birds on it. I thought I'd catch a few photos of all this activity.

We've had a couple of hummingbirds that come by regularly. And by regularly I mean every couple minutes. One was even so bold as to come around when we were standing outside right next to the feeder hanging the others. This bird would whiz by within a foot of us, hover, get some nectar, and move on.

You can hear the hummingbirds all day long. They're constantly buzzing around the house with their familiar whistling sound. Even from inside the house you can hear them outside doing aerobatics.

To see the rest of the photos, click here.

The Dentist

Quin had his first trip to the dentist yesterday and did great. He loved the waiting room because there was a huge fish tank with lots of colorful fish swimming around. He also liked the fact that there were girls waiting with him (he enjoyed giving them hugs while we waited). Going back to the exam room freaked him out a little bit. Perhaps it was the "dentist office smell", but he got very clingy. I wasn't sure how a toddler exam would be done, but this dentist does them as lap exams. She had Quin face me, putting one leg on each side of me, and then lay back with his head in her lap. He did really well!! I was really impressed by him sitting still to have his teeth examined and even cleaned.

His teeth look great (although his second tooth on top got chipped somehow, but we don't need to do anything for it as long as it doesn't bother him) and there was zero plaque! The one thing we do need to start doing is flossing. I am not looking forward to that, although he did great with it when the dentist did it, so maybe it won't be so bad!

After his exam, he got to pick a toy from the prize box, along with three stickers. I think he was most excited about the stickers. Who wouldn't be excited about stickers? I still love stickers!!!

All in all, I would have to say that our first trip to the dentist was a great success! He goes back again in six months, and between now and then he may get four more molars. Yeah, teething again! Knowing our boy, all four will come in at once; thats how the others came in.

For The Love Of Cows

Tim and I seem to be going a little nuts with the blog posts today, but here is another:

Quin seems to be developing a mildly unhealthy obsession for cows. As we drive both in and out of the canyon, we pass by a cow pasture where TONS of cows graze. I am not sure when he first noticed all of the cows, but he now screams for the cows every time we leave the house. About five minutes before we reach the cows he usually starts to beg for them. He often starts by nicely asking for the cows and slowly progresses to being more demanding and dramatic. By the time we actually reach the cows he is overjoyed, screaming hello to the cows (sometimes even blowing them kisses). He is always so happy to see the cows, until they pass. Once his beloved cows are out of sight, he becomes very upset and sometimes even cries for the cows to come back. I am happy that he loves animals so much, but this has become an obsession! I really hope that he doesn't figure out that I am the one driving him past the cows. Then he will be mad at me! Occasionally we stop to say hi to his favorite animals, but not always. I would stop more, but we always have the time to stop on the way home, when he is usually asleep (even with my best attempts to keep him awake)!

This video is actually him seeing the cows on the way back into the canyon (when he is usually asleep), which is why he is so calm.



(Yes, I am driving while taking video. I promise that I was watching the road and not Quin)

To keep him happy while he can't see live cows, I bought him a little toy cow. This has helped our car rides immensely. Lets just hope it doesn't get lost!

Quin's Love For Books

Ever since Quin was tiny, he has loved being read to (and now pretending to read himself). Perhaps this is a result of him being read Goodnight Moon every night while I was pregnant, or maybe it is a genetic thing. Regardless, Quin still loves books. Even when he is very sleepy, he asks for books, often more than one. Last night, for example, we didn't get him home until almost 10:30 and he was very sleepy (we actually woke him up to get him in the house). The minute he was changed into his PJs, the first thing he asked for was a book. Even when he is that sleepy I am more than happy to oblige with a book or two.

His favorites right now are: Piggies, That's Not My Robot, The Very Quiet Cricket, Corduroy, Old MacDonald's Barn, and of course Goodnight Moon.

Best Friends 4 Ever

Quin's got a new best buddy. Brennan is Angela (Becky's sister) and Brian's 4 year old son. Every time we see Brennan, he and Quin are busy running around like crazy for hours.

Last night we all went to Brennan's new house in Boulder for a Mother's Day dinner.

True to form, Quin and Brennan wanted to sit next to each other during dinner. Brennan even spent a little time trying to eat like Quin. That is to say, all that lay before him. Then both of them in concert decided the food looked much more appealing on the floor.

After dinner and some ice cream, there was still lots of running around to do. Brennan decided that Quin would look so much cooler if both of them ran around with their shirts off. They had a blast and entertained everyone.

Quin looks like such a big boy when he plays with Brennan. It's striking how well the two of them get along despite the near 2 1/2 year age difference.

I imagine that in a couple years this is how Quin will be with Drake and Callen. I can't wait to see the three of them as a heap of little boys. Quin will want to sit between Drake and Callen. Then they'll all lose their shirts and run in circles screaming and having a good old time.

Then Brennan will come over and things will really get crazy.

Silly Boy

Quin is such a silly boy. I have lots of videos and pictures that I haven't had a chance to post. I have been so busy, but that is no excuse for those of you who need your Quin fix. So, here are a few videos and pictures of random things:

This video was taken a few weeks ago, but shows just how silly Quin has become.



This next video shows Quin with a slightly unusual food:

We Can't Stop Him!

Last week, Quin and I made a trip to his doctor to take a look at his thumb. Unfortunately Quin is still quite the little thumb sucker. On average, this kid probably sucks his thumb about 70% of the time he is awake, and who knows how much of the time while he is in bed. As you can imagine, any body part wet for 8+ hours a day would get pretty pickled. Not only his thumb wrinkly and gross looking, but the fingernail has pretty much been sucked off. The pediatrician actually recommended that we convince Quin to stop sucking it. That is easier said than done. We actually bought the stuff that you are supposed to paint on their finger (it is supposed to taste bad and make them not want their thumb), tried it, and discovered that Quin likes the way it tastes! So next, we tried simply putting clear nail polish on his nail to protect the small amount that remained. He though that was a game and proceeded to chew it off. I tried telling him "no" every time he sucked it, but that turned into a game too (seeing as I was saying it every five seconds). At this point, we are out of options! Poor little guy! I don't know what to do next!

Self-Sufficient Toddler!

At 21 months, I guess we can no longer call Quin a baby. He walks, he talks, he undresses himself, and can even feed himself! He is a self-sufficient toddler and often insists on doing things by himself and his way. Last week, for example, he insisted that I let him wear his T-shirt over his PJs. What gave him the idea that this would be fun is beyond me, but I figured it wouldn't hurt him, so why not!
Today, Quin fed himself his entire breakfast (see the rather lengthy video below) without making much of a mess! He has actually been doing this for several weeks now, but it wasn't until this morning that I was able to get a good video of it.


He also loves to eat raspberries off of his fingers (I am to blame for that)! What a silly little boy!


I love seeing the daily progressions from baby to toddler, although it does make me realize that he is growing up really REALLY fast (as Tim mentioned in his post).

He has even figured out that he has pockets in his pants and loves to walk around with his hands in them. It makes him look so grown up!

The Budding Artist!

Lately, Quin has really enjoyed art; he loves everything from painting to coloring. He initially figured out that crayons are fun in the bathtub, and then rapidly transfered his new found skills to paper. He is fairly happy making pictures with only two colors, but occasionally insists on adding additional ones. We still haven't figured out for sure if he will be right handed or left handed. I know that kids are supposed to be starting to show dominance around this age, but I'm still not sure!




In this video, you can see him testing out his coloring skills:


Is he a future Van Gogh or what!

21 Months Going on 21 Years

Wow, Quin is growing up WAY faster than I'm comfortable with. We actually have to start making some plans for his second birthday party. With only three months to go until he's two, we're acutely aware that our baby is no longer, well, a baby.

Today Quin turned 21 months old. Sure, we're not exactly celebrating every month-birthday that passes, but we do at least notice. No cake, no candles, no presents. But if we think about it, we try to snap off a few pictures to mark the milestone. Today was one of those month-birthdays. Realizing we've been so busy lately that photos have completely gone by the wayside, I decided to break out at least some minimal lighting gear and get off a few good shots of the Quinster.


We gave up many months ago trying to get some studio shots of Quin. He moves too fast and gets upset if we try to get him to stay still. So any setup shots we do have to be in his element. Portraits involve chasing him around the house with an umbrella wielding light stand. Today, that element just happened to be climbing up on the back of the couch. The two shots above are on the couch. In fact, poor Elizabeth isn't feeling so hot today, and he was climbing on top of her.


This third shot was actually taken a couple weeks ago at Matt and Becky's backyard. We were there for Brennan's birthday and brought the camera gear to get some family portraits of Brennan and his whole gaggle. Since we had the gear out and Brennan and Quin were out having fun, we decided to get some good shots.

I really dig that fence in their backyard. When we get ourselves settled into a house one of these days, I think I'm going to build a fence just like that one. It won't actually do anything. It'll just be twenty feet long and serve no purpose other than looking cool in photos.

Is it just me, or is Quin not the most handsome 21 month old you've ever seen? What a little stud-muffin.

To see the handful of photos I took today, check out the top of Quin's photo album.