1st Haircut!

I know that by age two most kids have already had at least one haircut, but not Quin! Recently, Quin got his first haircut and did magnificent! I was warned that he might cry and I was afraid that I might cry (I was slightly opposed to him getting his haircut since it had taken him so long to grow any!); neither happened.

When we arrived at the salon, he was asleep. I thought that was sure to throw the experience off, but he actually stayed asleep in my arms until we walked inside. Once he woke up, he got to meet Tina. The first thing he said to her was dinosaur (perhaps he was dreaming about them??) and then he roared at her. We all laughed and then got down to business.
He was perfectly happy sitting in the chair by himself. He was a bit of a moving target, but overall did great. I was very proud of him! In the end, I was actually happy that he got a haircut. He looks much neater and he can actually see without strands of hair hanging over his eyes. When it was all done, he got a lollipop as a reward. As many moms do, I saved the hair (although I am not sure what to do with it).

Musically Inclined!

Quin is very into music. I know this is a normal toddler behavior, but I had no idea just how into music he would be. He loves to play all of his musical instruments, often singing along to whatever new song he has composed (recently they have all been about Patches and Chloe). This past summer we actually participated in a music class, which he loved. He got to sing songs, dance around the room, play with bells, and bang on tone bars.

His newest thing is asking for songs in the car, and once they come on he dances back and forth in his car seat. Sometimes he dances so excitedly that he actually moves his car seat a little! This quick little video is of Quin playing the harmonica.

Chatter Box

Quin has turned into quite the little chatter box. No matter what the subject is, he has an opinion that he isn't shy to voice; everything from what he would like for breakfast (usually a waffle) to which toy he wants to bring in the car (today it was his airplane). Surprisingly, he is very easy to understand. I always thought that trying to determine what a toddler was saying was like trying to decrypt a secret message; it turns out that it is pretty easy. When Quin wants to color, he asks to color (and yes, he actually pronounces it color). When he is hungry and would like something to eat, the typical conversation is:

Quin: "hunger"
Me: "would you like something to eat" (dumb question, I know)
Quin: "yes" (sometimes it is followed by please)
Me: "what would you like to eat" (I know that I should give choices and not an open ended question, but I just love the standard answer)
Quin: "cheese"
Me: "Ok, you may have cheese, but would you also like berries?"
Quin: "CHEESE" (he really likes his cheese)

It goes this way even for breakfast. He always wants to eat cheese! The funny thing is that more often than not he will eat half of his cheese and then end up feeding it to the dog. I think he likes the idea of cheese more than he actually likes cheese!

When he is in his crib, either before he falls asleep or after he has woken up in the morning, he talks to himself. In the evening, he seems to go over his day. He talks about the things we have done and the friends we have played with. In the morning he often talks to bear for a moment or two before announcing to the world that he is up. He talks so much, that I am surprised that he doesn't talk in his sleep!He has a few favorite phrases at the moment:

How are you? (which he also loves to answer with "fine")
Bear, are you? (he says this as he wanders around the house looking for Pokey)
Hello, baby!

I have to say that I love how much he talks. It is no surprise that he talks as much as he does, seeing as both Tim and I are chatter boxes. He recently had his 2 year check up and the pediatrician was shocked by how much he talks and how clear he is. He actually has the vocabulary of a three year old! I love watching him learn new words every day. It is one of the many great things about being a parent.

Happy Birthday Quin!

This past Sunday we helped Quin celebrate his 2nd birthday! Not to get sappy or all teary eyed, but it really is hard to believe that Quin is already two. Wow! It seems like just yesterday we brought home our sweet, helpless, tiny, little boy. In the past two years he has rapidly grown into a wonderful toddler.

Now, Quin is a sweet toddler with opinions and distinct ideas of what he wants. When things don't go his way, the not so sweet (and slightly demanding) side comes out. Normal as this may be, it is hard to have your sweet little boy to tell you to "move". Where did he even learn to idea of telling someone to move? It could be from us asking the dogs to move, or perhaps that is what happens when he goes to drop-in day care; he picks up on words and phrases that are not so nice. I can't wait to see what kind of vocabulary he picks up once he is in day care full time! Overall though, I wouldn't change a thing about my little boy.
To celebrate his birthday, Poppa, GG, Tim, and I took him to the zoo for the afternoon. We spent hours upon hours visiting with all of the animals. Amazingly, Quin walked almost the entire way. On this visit, he seemed to really like all of the animals that we saw, and with the exception of the hippos and rhinos, he wasn't scared (although we did skip the large primates, which he was scared of last time). I think Quin had a great birthday!