Celebrations Continue

Quinn's first birthday was a blast! We traveled to Alabama to celebrate with family. Quinn enjoyed a personal Sponge Bob cake at his great aunt and uncle's house on Dog River and homemade Mickey Mouse cupcakes a couple of days later at his grandparents' house. Drawing the ears with icing is A LOT harder than you think! Amazingly, Q knew exactly what to do with the cake AND the gifts! He got the "sugar shivers" because the icing was so sweet. On Thursday, August 27, he decided it was time to walk on his own! He and I also spent special time together as I told him his birth story and our trials with hurricane Ike two weeks later. I've complained so much about my difficulty with parenthood and being a first-time mom. But on August 28, 2009, it was all worth it! My tiny 7 1/2 pound baby boy has grown into a little man and I can't imagine a world without him!

Birthday Celebrations Begin

Since Grandpa and Mimi will not be able to come to the beach for my birthday, they came to visit me this weekend! And they brought me lots of awesome toys! I got a train made out of wooden blocks, a pull-cart of wooden blocks, some bath-time puppets, a couple of books, and a school bus to ride! I learned that when you tear paper, there's always a surprise inside! How cool is that? I found Mimi and Grandpa to be quite funny. We did a lot of laughing together and I talked a lot; telling them all about my life in Houston. On Saturday evening, Mimi took me for a wagon ride. We had a great time! Only five days until my birthday!

Conversation at Gymboree

Random Mom: Why doesn't your baby walk or talk to you?
Me: Because he's 11 months old.
Random Mom: Oh, I thought he was 2 or 3.
Me: Nope. He'll be 1 in a couple of weeks.
Random Mom: Well, how much does he weigh (eyes wide)?
Me: Probably right at or under 25 pounds.
Random Mom: **silence**

I took Quinn to "open gym" today. It's basically free-time play for all ages. He was the only "baby" this time, so I guess he really stood out (no pun intended) when he wasn't standing up and walking. Good thing I don't take conversations like this personally. I guess that mom doesn't practice the mantra "Every baby is different."

Our Big Boy

In 13 days, our baby boy will be a year old. We are experiencing a lot of "firsts" these days. The most exciting being turning around the car seat! Q loves it! Maybe it's just a coincidence, but he sang A LOT more on this maiden voyage. Also on the "firsts" list is drinking milk, eating a banana, eating apple slices, and walking in public (while holding daddy's hand). Who's ready for kindergarten?

Today, I became the mom that blocks the grocery store isles with the race car cart. Just add that to my list of "Things I said I would never do as a mom but do anyway." It seems to get longer every week!

When Mommy isn't Watching...

Put Me In Coach

Our neighbors, the Wojtalewicz's ( you know- Abby's mom an dad), invited us to the Astros game today. We had excellent seats (thank you, Matt) and plenty of room for the babies. If there is one thing Houston got right, it was building a stadium with a retractable roof! It can be 103 degrees outside or pouring down rain, and you can still enjoy a baseball game! Quinn and Abby seemed to enjoy themselves. They clapped along to the chants and neither minded the loud cheering. There was lots of waving to each other and to the folks behind and in front of us. Our only issue with Quinn is that he wants to be mobile at ALL times. Sitting still has left his list of "accomplishments." Regardless, we had a great time and will definitely go to more games!

Baby Discipline

I told this story to several people already. And the more I think about it, the more I am blown away by the intelligence and sense of humor of my soon-to-be one year old boy. If this is a sign of things to come, Ben and I are in deep trouble!

We have an end table that has a metal latch on it. Quinn enjoys standing up and slamming the latch up and down- causing a most irritating noise. Not to mention, scratching the pricey piece of furniture! Initially, I tried stopping this by clapping my hands, spouting an authoritative, "No!" and moving him away from the area. Quinn's response: laughter. Full-blown, show-you-all-my-teeth cackling laughter. My next tactic: the same "No!" with a hand slap and moving him away from the area. And just as any good boy should, Q tested me. Over and over. Until finally, he started slamming the latch, sitting down, and holding his hand out for me to slap (this is where mommy turns around so he can't see her laugh).

The child knows when he's doing something that he should not. And when he sees me catch him doing it or when I use my "I really mean it" voice, he sits down and holds out his hand.

Guess the hand slap is out.

Can Abby Come Play?

Abby, our neighbor, came over to play today. She wanted to check out the ball pit. And let's just say she LOVED it! Q is seven weeks older than Abby and they are like night and day. While Quinn is "husky," Abbs is dainty. He's a rough and tumble full-speed-ahead bulldozer and she's a gentle and cautious delicate flower. Then again, she could be hell on wheels at home and just felt out of her element at our house. :) What the two of them do have in common: looking just like their daddies!

They are still at a stage where they really just play around each other and not with each other. Every now and then, they will baby babble back and forth. It's really cute. Here's a conversation as I imagine it:

Quinn: My mom can't even buy me clothes that fit! She just got me this shirt and it's already too small. My belly hangs out! So embarrassing!

Abby: My mom always makes me wear pink! My favorite color is really green! Why don't you have any hair?



I can't remember how the age thing works with starting school in Texas. But I really hope they are in the same grade. It sounds crazy, but I can already see them meeting on the sidewalk to walk to school together. I am literally holding back the tears!

Here they are sharing a "little people."