Attitude!

Could you ever guess that our sweet little boy could have a giant attitude?!  Well lately, he has.  I have heard from friends with older boys that three is worse than two.  In all honesty, two hasn't been that bad, but this attitude has got to change.  He is a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with a bit too much of Mr. Hyde showing through.  One minute, he is the sweetest little boy on the planet, wanting nothing more than to snuggle, play, and tell you how much he loves you.  The next minute, he is perfectly content biting your shoulder, hitting the walls, and yelling.  He is a bit like a box of chocolates: You never know what you are going to get.

I know this is all just a phase and will pass in time, but I do like the sweetness that has come with it.  Maybe that won't go away when the attitude does.  I suppose over all it isn't so bad, as long as timeouts continue to work and he continues to have moments of sweetness.

Dad's Little Helper

One time at the potty= 1 sticker on the potty chart
15 stickers = New prize
This prize = Bubble Mower

I can't wait until he's old enough to do it for real.






"Dad, I think there's something jammed in the blade".


Next up: a Little Einsteins musical book.

Big Boy

This has been a big week for Quin. He is now officially a big boy.

When we found out we were going to have kid numero dos, we discussed what we would do about sleeping arrangements. We quickly came to the conclusion that we'd graduate Quin to a toddler bed and give his crib to the new baby. It would be the first of many hand-me-downs, and we would start it off big.

So Elizabeth went to Toys R Us to investigate toddler beds. And of course, as soon as Quin caught wind of the idea of this new bed that only big boys sleep in, he was sold. He wanted his own big boy bed NOW. Unfortunately it was on a one week backorder. So rather than an investigative trip, it was a buying trip. Elizabeth ordered the bed.

A week went by and we picked up the new bed. I put it together right away (wishing the whole way I'd simply built one for him but knowing buying was more practical, and timely).



Quin absolutely loves his new bed. For several days it was all we could do to keep him out of it while we were upstairs. He wanted to be in it all the time. And he sleeps great in it, right out of the gate. His first night was a big success, sleeping until 9:30 the next morning.

So we figured "why stop it now?" If he was to be a big boy, we figured we'd go all out. The next day I removed the changing pad from his dresser. It was now a big boy dresser. This one was WAY overdue, but we kept it around because it was easier to dress him up there than on the floor. But now we have his bed for that.

So his room was transformed. He woke up in a baby's room that morning, and went to bed in a big boy's room.

So why stop there? We decided he was ready to have some responsibility. After all, he was acting like a bigger boy too knowing he had graduated. So we decided to take down the baby gates on the stairs. He is now free to move about the house at will. He no longer needs us to go up and down. And he loves it!

Summer Fun In The Sprinklers

Tonight while dinner was baking in the oven, we decided it was time to enjoy the new found summer a little bit.  It was time to go in the back yard and play in the sprinklers.

It all started so innocently.  Quin slowly dipped his toes in the pool.

He played for a bit until it was time to go back inside.  Nothing special, just a regular kid having a romp in the sprinklers.  I went over and turned off the sprinklers.  Then...I had an idea.  As Quin approached the sprinkler to see why it turned off...

Fool me once, shame on you they say.  Not Quin...

We did it again.

And again.
And again.
Until finally he just had to tell that damn sprinkler who's the boss!

All in all just good clean fun, even if dad is a bit of a prankster sometimes.

What Quin did while we were in Europe...

I know that we have been back for two weeks, so this post is a little overdue, but we have been busy!  Gwen has been great about supplying me with pictures of Quin's "vacation at Papa and GG's", so now I will pass them on.  

Before our trip, Quin was part of the American minority that had never visited a McDonald's.  While we were in Europe, that all changed.  He payed a visit to Ronald McDonald and the ever alluring play area not once, not twice, but three times while we were gone!  From what I understand, it was not for the food but for the entertaining play area and happy meal toys.  The funniest thing was as soon as Tim and I got home, Quin asked us to take him to McDonald's! Of course our little boy asked, so we took him.  He didn't get to eat their awful food though.  We bought an ice cream sundae to split and he enjoyed playing for a 1/2 hour.  Since our initial adventure to McDonald's, he hasn't asked and we haven't been back.  Maybe it is more fun with Papa and GG? 

Quin has only been been to the movies once, until now! He did great going to see Aliens vs. Monsters in 3D.  He had a little trouble keeping the 3D glasses on, but I was surprised that it was just a little trouble! He won't leave sunglasses on for more than five minutes.  Also, from what I understand, he may have fallen asleep about 1/2 hour before the end.  Not bad for a two year old!

They also met up with his cousins for lunch and a fun music class.  From what I understand, the Solley boys were the only three not wanting to sing.  What's up with that?!

While we were gone, they got 2 feet of snow! We actually called one day from London and Quin didn't want to talk to us because he was too preoccupied with the idea of playing in the snow (we had interrupted his outdoor play time).  He was fixated on the fact that his pants were very wet from playing in the snow, but nope, he wasn't cold.  

They also watched movies at home.  That is a hard thing not to do, especially since Quin asks nonstop to watch a movie.  You would think that this kid watches a ton of TV, but he really doesn't.  While we were gone, he watched the Sound of Music (plus I am sure there were countless others).  Since we have been back, he wanders around the house singing songs from the movie.  So cute!

On Easter, he had a great big Easter basket waiting for him with all kinds of yummy treats and fun toys.  He also got an awesome Tonka Truck which he pushed up and down their 1/2 mile driveway.  He now loves to use it outside in our backyard.  I made sure that he would get plenty of fun stuff while we were gone.  

As a result of his amazingly fun Tonka truck (and all of the stuff they did), Quin actually managed to run out of energy from time to time.  One such time happened to be during dinner.  He actually fell asleep at the table!! I think he looks tired in this picture:

Random picture from while we were gone: