Walking on June 20, 2009!

Only 8 days before turning 10 months old, Quinn decided he would just stand up and start walking.




I haven't learned how to fade the music yet!

Gymboree

We finally made room on the laptop for the 46 videos we've taken in the last few months! And I am slowly, but surely, teaching myself how to edit in iMovie. This is the first time I have done any editing- and you will be able to tell. Backtracks, intakes, outtakes, fades...it's so complicated! Anyway, this video was taken a month and a half ago. You wouldn't believe how much Quinn's climbing and moving has improved in that short time!

Fort Time

Our homemade fort built with three bar stools

and an old comforter. I know, the comforter is
a little girly.

The Star Wars fort (tent) turned upside down.
Not sure how he did that.

Happy Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day, Ben and Quinn wore matching shirts to church. Both guys "Totally Rock!"

You Won't Believe It!

Well everyone, hold on to your hats...Quinn walked for the first time today-just 8 days before turning 10 months old! He finally "fixed" his car/push-thingy (it's kind of like a Transformer) and stood up behind it and walked! We have it on video and I will post it just as soon as we figure out how to make room on this stupid MacBook. We can't figure out where all the free space went! Ben thinks it's because our movies are in HD. He's working to get some stuff transferred to an external hard drive. It's frustrating when you switch from a PC to a Mac!

Here are some still shots...

Curiosity

Since Quinn is mobile now, his curiosity has increased tenfold! He wants to look under things, around things, and behind things. We've baby-proofed as much as we can without nailing everything shut or removing everything from the house. Quinn's latest fascination: the curtains.

The "Foley" Mitchells Visit

I had a week-long trip planned to visit both sets of grandparents. However, the car was on the fritz and had to go to the shop. The real shop; not the Quinn shop (see the below post). Then, I was really nervous about driving by myself with a baby and possibly breaking down. So, Ben's parents, Mawmaw and Grandad, came to see us for a couple of days. They arrived while Q was sleeping. When he woke up, he was a little confused as to why these two "new"people were in his house. It took only a few minutes (and some Puffs) to remind Quinn of how much fun these two folks are! And before long, Mawmaw and Grandad were having to read Brown Bear (100 times), play "tunnel," and watch Q work on all his "broken" toys. We also went to the Houston Aquarium. It's really not much of an aquarium. Just a few fish tanks, one big snake, and two white lions (not sure why the lions are there. It was really sad seeing them cooped up! They didn't even have any grass or trees). We tried riding a train, but it broke down. And it was almost 100 degrees. So we rode the carousel and went home. Check out the slide show from their visit.

Mr. Fix-It

I'm not quite sure where Quinn picked this up, but he has started "fixing" all his toys. He turns over everything and tinkers with the bottom. Maybe he'll be a mechanic or some kind of engineer?

"Mom, I told you this music table is broken.
Now, please stop standing it up.
I need to work on it!"

"See, Mawmaw? It's broken right here."

"Okay, Grandad. I just need to crawl under here and
take a look before we start playing."

"Mom, the car is going back into the shop."

Peek-a-boo I See You!

Baby Quiz

You Have a Type B Baby

These are often the easiest children to care for -- they're friendly, accepting, patient, relaxed, and generally content. People with these traits are very trusting of others and genuinely interested in learning about people. Anger and unhappiness are rare for the Type B personality, who tends to see the glass as half-full. Happy and well balanced, Type B children will often grow up to be at peace with themselves and life's circumstances. This pleasant flexibility provides a Type B the opportunity to be successful in his work, through his valuable team-member skills and his ability to both lead and be led. Source: Treating Type-A Behavior -- and Your Heart, by M. Friedman and D. Ulmer (Alfred A. Knopf, 1984)

I think this quiz pegged Quinn on the nose! It asked questions about riding in a car seat, going to bed, sitting alone in the crib, being told "no," and playing with other kids-all of which Quinn does easily and happily. I guess Q took after Ben once again! Hopefully, Q won't pick up my compulsiveness, bossiness, and worrywart-ness while he's home with me!

All Boy

You know, I really didn't think babies took on stereotypical gender roles. I mean, how would they know what was "boyish" and what was "girly?" I guess I mostly believed that playing with trucks and dolls was an environmentally learned lesson. So far, Quinn has proven me wrong. He is 100% boy. Granted, I have no scientific proof (for my theory, not that he's a boy- he has the parts) or even another child with whom to compare Quinn. The boy has no fear. He loves to climb, tumble, flop, crawl, fall, wrestle, and roll - all at full speed. My favorite discovery is that he loves being under or inside things- like he's waiting for a magic fort to appear. Ben and I bought him a Star Wars tent with an attached tunnel. It's upstairs (no more room in the living room) so we haven't played with it yet. But I'll post pics when we do. Anyway, if Quinn can stand on it or crawl through/over it, he's gonna do it- guaranteed. He doesn't care that his balance isn't great or that he can't "catch himself" if he were to fall. Explore first, cry later. What a great motto to have!

Avocado

Well, it's finally happened. I found a food that Quinn just will not eat-avocado. I've given it him plain, mixed with applesauce, mixed with bananas, mixed with cereal. No matter how I disguise it, Quinn just doesn't like it. He takes every bite I give him and never spits it out. He just makes an AWFUL face and takes extra long swallowing it. I really wished he liked avocado; it's suppose to be the perfect baby food!