Egg Salad

BIG BOY!

2011-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

hiya, super q!

it's been a while, eh? sooo much has happened since i last wrote a note to you. you have grown by leaps and bounds. you talk up a storm now....you have so much to tell us about things that interest you and things that you do not like. you are quite opinionated and we are starting to see some of those terrorizing threes we saw with your sister a few years ago. in our experience, three is much harder than two. you are different from sissy, though, in that you are very quick to apologize and soften your tone. i hope this trait continues.

you have made such big progress in these last six months. you are about 75% potty trained, you have learned to jump with both feet and to jump off of things, you have learned to do a forward roll and walk on a balance beam and jump on a trampoline. you have learned how to sing and talk and dance and MAKE US LAUGH with your constant burping and tooting (on purpose. what's the deal with this...is this stuff programmed as a default feature for males???). you are THIS close to mastering dressing yourself and getting your shoes on...you are a bit reluctant, though, and really love for mommy to take care of you. you are cuddly and sweet. you love to kiss and be kissed. you also love to wrestle. you LOVE LOVE LOVE your sissy. you guys fight a lot, but you also play really well together and are super sweet to one another a good bit of the time. you are a super big human brother to your waffle cat most of the time. you also are 100% responsible for him being named after a breakfast food as you were unable to say "la fu" when we got him seven months ago and your pronunciation of la fu came out "waffle."

let's see...what else have you been up to? well, you have settled into life in hong kong far better than the rest of us combined. for a long time, we were convinced that you simply did not remember our life in texas, but recently, you have begun to tell us that you want to go home and that you miss your baba and your doggies. i am not sure if this is an original thought from you or if you are regurgitating what you hear us say. as it turns out, we are GOING HOME in a few weeks...we are all so very excited. i can't wait.

i am eager to see what you remember about texas...i am curious if you will remember which room is yours....how much you remember the dogs....what you think of the back yard....if you remember the park near our yard. i know that being a 3yo boy will be much easier in texas than it is here, though you are quite the trooper.

you can easily walk miles upon miles with little-to-no grumbling. you love to ride the bus, love to flag taxis, and even enjoy the boats (you had pretty terrible car sickness as a baby, so i am rather surprised at how well you do on the boats). you take all the sights and sounds in without any issues...i am curious to see how you do with the quiet and space back in texas.

you are now my shopping partner. you do great on our trips through the wet markets and into the small grocery and corner stores here. i am interested to see how you will do when we are traipsing through a HUGE HEB and you are having to ride in a cart. i also am curious how you will do with having to ride in a car seat in a personal vehicle. car seats are not possible here unless you own a vehicle. we do not.

the absolute biggest challenge with living here has been the EXTREME lack of a social life for you and me. we decided to not enroll you into school simply because it is extremely expensive here, and we are not interested in paying what equals a mortgage payment so that you can play. granted you would have been learning a lot of stuff, too, but it's not like i can't teach you at home. as a result of our decision to keep you out of school, you never have anyone to play with. you have no friends that you see regularly (and neither do i). i am SO excited to get back to our community in pville and to reconnect with our friends...and especially to watch you grow your very own friendships. i know it's in you...you have become such a social guy and try to get other kids to play with you...it just doesn't usually work out well due to language barrier or other issues.

as always, buddy, you are a bright, beaming light in my life. i love you more every day even if i regularly tear out handfuls of hair over your antics :-) you keep me on my toes, keep me laughing, and warm my heart every single day.

if you could, though, please stop pooping on the floor...and especially stop picking it up to carry it to the toilet. k?

i love you, you crazy boy!

-mommy

QRA v 2.5.000

2011-05-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

QRA 2.5.000 (QRA) is a high-performance model designed to keep your life interesting and fun. this model comes complete with dimples, gigantic blue eyes, and strawberry blonde hair. this model also can be difficult to program as the current operating system tends to run Why 1.0 and No 1.0 intermittently. QRA is a significant upgrade from earlier models and includes the features listed below. Refer to the Known Issues section for information about limitations for this model.

QRA System Requirements

Operating System : ElevenHoursSleepThreeMealsOneSnackEndlessHugs revision 10,000
Hardware: Diapers/Pullups, Toothbrush, Countless Trains and Cars, Multiple Sets of Loving Arms
Software: Milk, More Milk, Even More Milk, Peanut Butter, Ice Cream, Apples, Oranges, Strawberries, and Bananas

QRA Features

QRA now understands 99% of commands and responds appropriately. Sometimes. Refer to the Known Issues section for further information.
QRA runs Throw 1.0 with force and precision.
QRA runs Jump 1.0 successfully.
QRA runs Walk Miles with Mommy 1.0 successfully. Refer to the Known Issues section for limitations of this feature.
QRA runs Play Nicely with Sissy 1.0 successfully.
QRA runs Eat Everything in Sight 1.0 successfully. Refer to the Known Issues section for limitations of this feature.
QRA runs Snuggle Sweetly 1.0 successfully.
QRA runs Love My Sissy 1.0 successfully.
QRA runs Learning to Swim 1.0 successfully.
QRA runs Talking Up a Storm 1.0 successfully. Refer to the Known Issues section for limitations of this feature.
QRA runs Counting 1.0 successfully. Refer to the Known Issues section for limitations of this feature.

QRA Known Issues

QRA may respond incorrectly to some commands, launching and running Why 1.0 or No 1.0 instead of completing the command.
QRA may launch Hold You 1.0 after running Walk Miles with Mommy 1.0 for only a brief time. If this situation occurs, reboot QRA or run Sleeping on Mommy 1.0 for about an hour.
QRA may launch No 1.0 when offered green beans, tomatoes, or potatoes.
QRA may launch Speaking Quinneese 1.0 when responding to commands or requests. If this situation occurs, run Ask for Further Information 1.0.
QRA may abort Counting 1.0 after just a few seconds. If this situation occurs, run Count with Mommy 1.0.

Craaaaaazzzzzzy Baby

2011-02-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

hiya, quinny

dude, you're killin' me! really. mommy is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too old for these shenanigans. i do not want to have to hunt and peck to find you in the house (fell behind the entertainment center after scaling it), hear daddy tell you to get out of the kitchen sink (you climbed a window sill, up onto a counter, and into the sink), help you fish your toys out of the toilet (yeeeecccchhhhhh!), hear the sickening thump-thump-thump as you roll down the stairs (or ride your space ship toy down the stairs), or wonder about any loud noises that are followed by a cute little "uh-oh."

you are an active little guy, quinn. even though you are old enough to walk with me, i still have to put you in a stroller when we go out b/c you have a tendency to bolt and/or terrorize your surroundings. on the plus side, your shenanigans got me a free fax AND some good advice about living as an expat while at office depot. after the fourth time i had to sprint after you in less than 7 minutes, the guy trying to help me just gave me a sympathetic smile and a free fax. thanks, dude (both dudes).

you've been having lots of fun these past couple months with a few sides of drama. it's winter, so we have been battling our fair share of winter ickies. you and i seem to be the most susceptible to these while daddy and sissy are not. i have to say that this winter is still way easier than last winter...you seem to have come away from last winter with more immunities. the weather has been pretty awesome...we have had some really warm weather, and recently some really cold weather...with snow. you are your mother's child, buddy. you weren't fond of that cold white stuff at all.

at just over 2 years old, you are talking quite a bit and doing other things 2yos do...like throwing tantrums and fits and being ornery. it's mostly pretty cute with a side of insanity. you are still very big for your age, so your fits can be dangerous to your health and ours, and sometimes it just plain looks HILARIOUS to see this gigantic child throwing a screaming, kicking hissy fit. i do get a lot of looks, though...i think that sometimes folks think you are much older than you are b/c of your size.

speaking of your size, you have recently gone through a MAJOR growth spurt. you have grown about an inch and a half just since your 2yo appointment, and you have had the leg pains to prove it. for about a week, you were waking nightly with a lot of whimpering and clutching of your legs. tylenol, water, and head rubs got you through that. you have blown through just about all of your 2T stuff and a good amount of your 3T stuff. you even have some 4T stuff that fits, which is a little crazy.

we are now just two weeks from our big move to china, and while i am SUPER excited for this adventure, i am dreading the initial acclimation phase. you are definitely a creature of habit, and helping you form new habits on a new schedule in a new place promises to be painful. we'll get through it, though. i think we will find so many new things to see and do that we all might be too tired to fight the changes. i hope, anyway.

i love you my little hurriquinn, quinnado, quinn-kong,

-mommy

Monkey Hugs

2010-11-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

hiya, quinny!

good lord, dude. it's been six weeks since i last wrote to you, and my god, things have CHANGED. you have grown up more in the last six weeks than you have in the last six months. first, we weaned you off your zippy (sleep sack) because you became too tall to fit it comfortably. that went well. we had planned to move you to a bed in december, but after having to cut you out of your crib tent (after fighting with a stuck zipper for 30 minutes), it became necessary for you to move to your big-boy bed earlier. we also got you another haircut, and this one is very short. you look SO big. you are talking a lot now. you have many, many words...too many for me to easily count. you like to imitate everything we say, and you still have a good bit of your own language. you are acting out more (gotta love the 2s), and now that you are in a bed, sleep has become a struggle once more. it's doable, though. i know that when i look back on this time with you, the sleep struggles will barely register as anything more than another opportunity to read you five more books ;-p

one of your newest things is to be VERY attached to me. i think that some of your sleep troubles are coming from an increase in separation anxiety. some of this is bad, and some of it is good. one of my favorite aspects is your monkey hugs. buddy, when you give me a hug, you do it with every fiber of your being. you wrap your wiry little arms and legs around me and hold on as tight as you can. i can literally let go of you, and you can stay stuck to me simply by your own power. i love it. since we cut off all your hair, you are once again enamored with mine (i think the missing hair is part of the sleep issues too...you have pulled your hair to sleep since you were about 9 months old). while i feel terrible that we took one of your comfort objects, i am loving that you are using my hair for comfort once again (you started doing this around 5 months...stroking my hair when you were sleepy).

in a mere 3 days, you will be two years old. i cannot believe how fast this time has gone, buddy. it's been an absolutely wonderful two years. yeah, we had some really hard times, but wow...i wouldn't change it for anything. i love watching you love your sissy (and her love you). watching your relationship blossom is one of my greatest rewards. you miss her when she's not near you, and you seek her out all the time. you still do not interact with little ones your own age, but you do very purposely interact with sissy and her big-kid friends. this is so fun to watch. fortunately, sissy and her friends are still at an age where playing with you is fun to them...they do not get frustrated or grumpy with you. i know this will change soon enough, but for now, it's AWESOME.

you are currently climbing me like a tree and telling me "mommy, hold!", so i must sign off.

i love you my little quinnado.

-mommy

The Countdown Has Begun

2010-09-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

hiya, quinny!

today, you are 22 months old. in just two short months, i will no longer think of your age in months...i will then think of it in years. this astounds me. i swear you just got here yesterday, yet, here you are bulldozing your way around the house and into my heart. you are a force to be reckoned with, buddy (do you see a pattern here?).

we have had a lot of fun this summer. you have grown by leaps and bounds in every way. you are taller, stronger, and more communicative all the time. you still climb anything that's standing still or at least a little still (like mommy), you are trying to jump, and you have mastered the stairs. we are planning to take the bottom gate down soon. it's not much good when you climb it all the time anyway, right?

you have started to put two words together to get your ideas across, but oddly enough, you haven't really added a whole lot of words to your vocabulary. you're just combining the ones you already had.

you have a new obsession : lightning mcqueen. thomas the tank engine has some stiff competition. i recently put a lightning sheet on your crib mattress and every time i go get you from your crib, you are telling me cah! cah! cah! you have a set of lightning PJs and you cry your big blue eyes out whenever i have to remove them from your person to put on your day clothes. it's tempting to let you run around in your PJs all day, buddy ;-p

in less than a week, you will start preschool for the very first time. you will attend a local church-based preschool on tuesdays and thursdays. i am excited for you and a little sad for me. i suspect i will be the one crying all morning while you crash toy trucks and cars. it turns out that all of the kids in your class are boys. ooooh, boy. i can see where this is going to go. sissy will be in class right down the hall from you, and i hope that you get to see her during the day and that this gives you comfort.

speaking of sissy, you have begun to interact with her more and more. you two chase each other all over the house most mornings. god forbid she gets out of your line of vision. you seriously lose your doo-doo anytime you are separated from her. dropping her off at her gymnastics class has become a very painful ordeal. you two still annoy one another, but you also love one another. i guess that's how it goes with siblings. ask aunt kimmy and uncle brian :-)

we have had such a fantastic summer visiting family and playing with friends. sadly, we have also lost a dear friend - one of your first girlfriends. she was bitten by a rattlesnake and died from the bite. i have never experienced a pain like this one, buddy. i cannot fathom what her parents are feeling. she was a friend we played with often, and to see you play with our other friends without her...well, there's a really big hole where she should be. i am so glad that you do not understand. sissy understands just a little bit, and that's more than enough to handle.

i am looking forward to what's next with you, quinny. you always keep me on my toes; life is NEVER dull with you around.

i love you,
-mommy

The Big 2-0

2010-07-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

hiya, quinny!

today, you are 20 months old. this bugs me, dude. you are not supposed to be this "old." you look more and more like a little boy and much less like a baby every day. you are talking more and more...and throwing more tantrums, too. you spent at least 15 minutes throwing yourself onto the driveway in anger this morning when i wouldn't let you push your toy out into the cul de sac.

you are obsessed with shoes. you went to lunch wearing a too-large pair of sissy's princess sneakers, today. first thing this morning, you donned another pair of sissy's sneakers...this time, it was a pair of size 8 mary janes that are dark pink. you have no shame, buddy ;-p

you have stopped eating, but you have not stopped growing. i'm not sure how this works. you still drink a fair amount of milk, but other than that, you seem to live on air and a couple of graham crackers. you have even boycotted meat! the only things you will eat enthusiastically is rice and apple sauce.

you are very much a mommy's boy still, but you have fun with your daddy, too. you like sissy. most of the time. you get excited when you see her for the first time in the morning, and you ask for her when you don't see her. otherwise, she annoys you ;-p

you are enjoying summer and all the water play it allows you. you are a tough little cookie; fire ants think you are delectable, but you rarely cry when they bite you. going for a long hike or walking the dogs while riding in a carrier on my back is still one of your favorite things to do. you have full-on boycotted shopping cart seats (so fun!), and you are mastering the heart-stopping habit of tipping your restaurant high-chairs back.

it is still a daily challenge to keep you alive. you have no fear and you are incredibly strong...this makes for a challenging combination. you had your first trip to the ER a couple weeks ago and succeeded in shaving a couple years off your old mother's life, buddy. you had what seemed to be a minor fall, but after exhibiting some strange behaviors, you ended up getting the fastest mini van ride to the hospital ever. poor sylvia. maybe that's why she's leaking oil now...maybe taking her up to 110 didn't sit well with the gaskets ;-p

at the rate i'm keeping up with your blog, buddy, you may very well be two before i get it all down again. i will try harder to keep this information up to date, but considering the crazy amount of fun we are having all the time, it's not likely i will succeed. in the mean time, i know you will enjoy our trips to zoos, children's museums, snake farms, amusement parks, endless playdates with friends, and trips your grandmothers' homes!

i love you, quinnzilla!
-mommy

The Proverbial Weed

2010-03-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

hiya, quinnzilla!

quinn, you are growing so fast we can almost see it happening. you have outgrown too many outfits to count, you outgrew the height limit on your car seat, your head is now over the top of your high chair and your feet almost completely rest on the foot rest. you went from a size 5 shoe to being tight in a size 6 in just the last four weeks. you are just bigger and bigger all the time.

you are having fun mastering big boy stuff...talking a little more each day. you have started calling me mahmi...it's more like ma'am and me combined than like "mommy." i love it! you've got some reasonably serious separation anxiety and stranger anxiety going on...sometimes. when we're in the house, you wail if i go upstairs without you, and you cling to me if anyone so much as looks at you when we're grocery shopping, but when we're playing at a park or at the sports fields, you just take off on your own and have no problem being 50 yards from me.

you have started to run in just the last couple days...it's pretty cute...and it's a workout for me :-) your last molar finally came through in the last couple days...i'm betting on sometime last night considering that you were up from 3:30 to 4:30 this morning expressing extreme displeasure. you now have all 16 of your 1-year teeth. i am pretty sure i see a swollen lump next to your left bottom molar...i'm betting that you will begin getting your 2-year molars in the next couple months. oh, goody :-p

you are completely down to one nap now, and you are already pushing it back. it started out being from 11:30 to 1:30, but you've already pushed it back to starting around 1 and going until a little before 3. this has caused a slight problem with sissy's preschool pickup time. fortunately, her school has extended care, so we are now picking her up at 3 instead of 2. she doesn't seem to mind, and this way you get closer to two hours for your nap.

speaking of school, i am looking into getting you started this summer a couple half days a week so i can get some work done (you and sissy will both go). i'm about to launch my own website as a "business owner," and you taking only one nap now leaves me with a lot less time to work. i am nervous about putting you in a program, but considering how social and active you are, i'm pretty sure you will adjust quickly and enjoy it.

i love you my growing-like-a-weed little big boy!
-mommy

still here!

2010-03-10T11:34:00.000-08:00

hiya, quinn-zilla!

yeah, we're all still here, i just haven't gotten around to writing in a while. you are doing great. you are growing by leaps and bounds in all aspects. you had your 15mo well check at about 15.5 months, and you continue to grow on the same curve you've been on since birth. you came in at 34 inches tall, 27 pounds 6 oz, and had a head circumference of 19 inches.

you aren't talking a whole lot except in random spurts. a week or so ago, i reached for you in the bath tub when it was time to get out, and you shook your head at me while saying notalldone. you did this several times. later that same week, you followed daddy into the bathroom, climbed up the step stool, looked in the mirror, and said SO COOL! since then, you haven't said one word (other than NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) see what i mean about coming and going?

you have begun to REALLY love playing with your sissy. most of the time, it's still all fun and games. sometimes, though, there is squabbling. you have officially entered the mommy-mommy-mommy phase. you unceremoniously dump whoever's in my lap OUT of my lap when you want in. sissy and sookie are not impressed.

you have begun to really enjoy our reading to you...this has been a bit of a challenge and very different from our experience with sissy. your love of all things thomas is what has sealed the deal. you now have 4 or 5 thomas books, and you bring them to us all the time so that we can read them to you.

your schedule has begun to change. you now have two long awake periods and one nap. you are sleeping better at night, too, so i'm thinking that the two-nap schedule might have been a big part of the problem with night-time sleep for you. you have learned to climb onto the sofa and the brown chairs. you also have perfected other climbing maneuvers with safer techniques (i'm not sure how i feel about this). just a couple days ago, you watched me put one of the dog bones up out of your reach. i went to use the restroom, and not a minute later, there you are right next to me holding the bone i just put up. your sissy came into the bathroom to tell me that you had just climbed up onto the table, gotten the bone, and climbed back down.

one of your latest "tricks" is drawing. you LOVE to draw/scribble. you do pretty well under very close supervision, but the one time i left you alone with two crayons for more than two minutes, you ate half of each. that made for some interesting diaper changes for a couple days :-) you also have mastered using a spoon. this so greatly surprises me b/c you absolutely refused to let us feed you with a spoon starting at 7.5 months; we figured you'd NEVER know how to eat with silverware. right now, your favorite thing to eat with your lunch is your soy yogurt that you scoop out of the container and feed to yourself. you do a pretty great job of it, too!

i love being your mommy, buddy!
-mommy

Little Big Boy

2010-01-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

hiya, quinny!

i'm sooooooooooooooo late and behind and generally slacking. okay, i'm not really slacking...i've been busy keeping up with you and doing a little freelance work in my "down" time!

mr. man, you are growing like the proverbial weed. you look different just since your christmas pics, which we had taken just a month ago. you now have a full head of longish, curly, soft, strawberry blonde hair that i cannot keep my hands out of. daddy and i talk back and forth about cutting your hair, but the bottom line is that i cannot bring myself to do it. i think we're going to let it grow a couple more months before we cut it. in the mean time, a couple of people have told me how pretty you are (thinking you're a girl), but i try not to let it bother me. i know you're a boy :-) a boy with gorgeous hair.

dude, you are a movin' machine now. you walk fast and confidently, you are close to running, you have tried to jump, you can get yourself up very quickly when you fall, and you even walk backward down steps really well. you are very comfortable and coordinated in your own skin. you seem to have reached this level of confidence long before sissy did when she was little, though you'd never know it looking at her now. i know, i know...all kids are different. but, we can't help comparing you guys.

you are trying to talk. you have mastered a couple words...NO, dada, and doggie. you have a few others that you like to try out...ma, close, yeah, and coppa (for copper...often sounds like caca). you also have said baba several times very clearly. you looooovvee your baba and light up when you see him. you walk/run to him as fast as you can with your arms outstretched and a big grin on your cherubic little face.

you have had a couple of struggles since i last wrote to you. teeth are popping through at an alarming rate...fortunately, they all seem to be broken through now, if not all the way through. teething really messes with your sleep. you had a pretty nasty allergic reaction to something you were exposed to, and we suspect it was peanuts. we are a peanut butter loving family, so this could be pretty huge. you seem to do fine when we've eaten peanut butter and then breathe on you or touch you, but after a fun dinner at a friend's house where there was some peanut sauce, you had a super nasty diaper that caused you to break out in hives that spread until they covered your entire torso front and back. due to the nature of peanut allergies, this really isn't something we can safely test by purposely exposing you to peanuts, so i will be asking your pedi to get you in for an allergy test after we see her for your 15-month well check.

your personality continues to shine through. you are a pretty laid back guy, you are very affectionate and snuggly, you are very playful and not at all shy. you seem to have NO stranger anxiety and get clingy only when you don't feel good or are very tired/hungry. you love to be outside. you love to climb. you seem to be really obsessed with high places, which is worrisome. keeping you safe in the house (let alone outside of it) is a bit of a challenge, but because you are very active and curious, it's reasonably easy to distract you from something that's not safe for you. you do continue to be an expert babyproofing consultant...if there's a weakness in a babyproofing system, you are sure to detect it, test it, and disprove it. you are your own quality assurance team!

i love you my little moving, shaking, climbing snuggle bum!

-mommy

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

2009-11-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

hiya, sweet cheeks

quinn, you are one year old now. i cannot believe that this much time has passed so quickly. in so many ways, it seems like you got here yesterday. what a year it's been, baby boy. a year ago this week, i was missing every little sigh you made, every smile that crossed your lips in sleep, every yawn, and every stretch. b/c of the choices i made regarding how you would make your entrance into this world, i was back in the hospital fighting for my life. i regret so many things about your birth, but the two things i regret the most are missing out on the second week of your life and not being able to nurse you. you were well taken care of that week; your grammie and your aunties took very good care of you...and daddy when he was well enough, for he had become very seriously ill, too. but, it's just not the same, quinnado. I wanted to be the one to see your every change for those 7 days. i cried myself to sleep every night that i had to be away from you and sissy.

we've come a long way, sweet boy. not only was your birth wrought with challenges, you battled a hideous case of reflux for months, but here you are today eating and sleeping well, and able to do so without a million doess of meds. you are a super mellow little dude 99% of the time. you've got some temper to go with that red hair of yours, but it's quick. you don't hold grudges.

you are growing and changing so fast. you are a big ol' boy, and these days you look a whole lot like your daddy. you have his cheeks and chin. i still think that your eye shape and color comes from me, and those dimples...my god those dimples...i think you get those from your grammie. your hair is beginning to turn blonde under the red, which is exactly what mine did as a baby (though a much younger baby than you are now). i REFUSE to cut your hair b/c it would mean the end of the red and of the curls. it is a little bit funny, though, when i wash your hair and it's down to your shoulders in the back. heh. you have a mullet, dude!

i love you, my sweet boy. the greatest gift i've ever received has been the priviledge of being the mommy to sissy and you. to grow you in my tummy and to have the priviledge of bringing you into this world. what a gift!

onward we grow, little man!

love,
mommy

Avoidance

2009-10-26T08:10:00.001-07:00

hiya, sweet cheeks!

it's been a while, eh? sorry for the lapse, but i'm in complete denial. your birthday is a mere 8 days away, and i'm not ready. oh, i'm ready to see how much fun you will have with your gifts and cake, and i'm eager for all the new things on your horizon, and i'm eager to watch you grow and thrive and move toward the next goal/milestone at warp speed. BUT...i am not ready to close the door on your babyhood. i just can't believe that i will never have another baby...that my baby is all done being a baby. i am definitely not ready to go through all the mixed emotions i have about your birth. let's face it...been doing that for months now. i have so much sadness and regret about your birth...it's silly, really. i need to focus on the fact that you're here, you're healthy, and despite the shitstorm you and i survived, we are none the worse for the wear. i am just sad that i have no good memories of your birth or of the two months following it. i wish i could do all of it all over again, make different (better) choices, and have nothing but happy memories of your entrance into this world. i am hopeful that next year, all i will be thinking about is how much fun your first birthday was...and that the memories and feelings about your birth will have faded.

i love you, you 'lil-bit-crazy, climbing, head-banging, giggling, clapping, almost-walking little boy. you bring immeasurable joy to my life.

-mommy

What's in a name?

2009-09-10T07:54:00.001-07:00

hiya, sweet cheeks!

oh, there is so much to catch up on! the last couple weeks have been NUTS. you are on the move in a big, big way these days. we've been trying out two nick names on you...quinnado and quinn kong. you love to make a mess, and you can get from point A to point B FAST these days, so your messes are large and spread out...kinda like with a tornado or after king kong has stomped through a city ;-p

you are very curious. you like to inspect and analyze EVERYTHING in your environment, and you especially love the challenge of a new environment. you and i took sissy for a hearing test last week, and you were so excited to explore your surroundings during that test. unfortunately, the audiologist that was seeing sissy was super cranky and made several rude comments about you...including telling me that i should think about putting you on a leash. sheesh! i was respectful of the office property and kept you from actually getting into anything and from being noisy, but that apparently was not enough of an effort for dr. cranky pants. they actually told me not to bring you the next time i take sissy for a hearing test!!! who could NOT want you around?!?! i cannot fathom this! okay...i guess it makes sense that sissy and the dr. can focus better when not distracted by your adorableness ;-p

this week has been pretty rough. we did have a nice weekend and some fun with friends, but things got hectic fast. on tuesday night, i served you your dinner without thinking about or testing the temperature of it first. you got burned when you tried to eat the sweet potato casserole i gave you. i acted fast and got you into a cold shower immediately, which helped tremendously, but you do have a blister on the pinky of your right hand. you are having trouble sleeping at night b/c you like to sleep with your hands underneath your body, which puts a lot of pressure on that sore hand. i cannot tell you how sorry i am to have been so careless and to have caused you so much pain. you and i are running on very little sleep now for 3 days and counting (you are in a growth spurt, so you had been up a lot the night before the sweet potato incident, too). i am so tired that i am shaking. i wish i could crawl into your crib and nap right next to you :-) fortunately, you have been napping pretty well and playing well when you are awake. it appears that your hand bothers you only after several hours of sleeping on top of it (only! ).

i will keep telling myself that "this, too, shall pass.", and i will continue to hope that your hand heals quickly.

i love you, buddy.
-mommy

Midnight in the Garden of Poop and Evil

2009-08-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

hiya, sweet cheeks!

quinn, you are a predictable pooper. you are SO predictable that i can put flushable liners in your cloth diapers on what i know to be a poop day and save myself (and the rest of us) the odorific experience of storing your poopy cloth diaper until it's wash time.

well, now that you're eating more table foods -- and because you have a pretty serious milk allergy -- and because so many processed foods contain milk of some kind, your "schedule" is going up in flames. literally. on your butt.

the other night, you broke your routine and had what we call a "midnight poopy". we don't like midnight poopy. we don't like ANYTHING that messes with a small person's sleep. you woke up and started crying. i gave you a couple minutes to see if you were going to settle, but you didn't...you got more upset. i took you a 2 oz snack bottle and some motrin (your canines are trying to come through and they're causing a lot of pain...thought they might be the culprit). i go into pick you up and try to soothe you, and you are a bundle of rock-hard muscles. your entire body is TENSE. you are pushing me away, kicking me with your legs, arching backward, and crying so hard that you are nearly screaming. i haven't seen you this upset since your reflux has been under control.

i bring you downstairs to see if i can assess the situation and get some help from daddy. you do the same tense maneuvers in daddy's arms, and he says he smells something "funny". i almost never can smell your poopy diapers, and daddy ALWAYS can! so, we get you undressed and sure enough, you've got surprise in your pants. you cried super hard and thrashed around until i got you cleaned up, and then it was like someone flipped your switch. you went limp, fell back to sleep, and went on about your night like nothing had happened.

the day before this had happened, you had swiped some of sissy's mac n cheese. i am thinking that the dairy is what hurt you so badly. i am redoubling my efforts to keep dairy out of your reach.

i have been on a bit of a bad streak this week. two days after the midnight poopy fire butt incident, i banged your head not once, but twice, poked sissy in the eye, and let the van door slide into her knee. all of this was on accident, but by the end of the day, i was feeling like a pretty craptastic mama. one of the incidents was a little bit funny, though. i went to get you from your morning nap, and when i pulled you out of your crib, i lifted you high in the air to play elevator with you (we lift you up and make sounds of anticipation before we drop you almost to the floor (we catch you under your arms just short of your toes hitting the floor.) you think this is pretty awesome and it's one of your favorite games). well, i inadvertently stuck your head in the ceiling fan. you are tall. i'm not short. and, i have no depth perception. it also happens that your room is dark, the ceiling fan is white, and the ceiling is white. you whimpered once, and then started laughing. i guess you thought it was funny to get bonked in the head by a fan blade. i, on the other hand, was trying not to cry.

here's to less drama for the remainder of the week, buddy!

love,
mommy

Baby Blues

2009-08-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

hiya, sweet cheeks

well. it has started. i'm starting to feel sad about how big and grown up you are getting. i'm watching your baby days disappear at an alarming rate, and all i want to do is make it STOP! i am really missing being pregnant with you...feeling you stretch and kick...rubbing your head (which you still LOVE)...anticipating your arrival. i miss it all. and, of course i want to do your birth all over again and have it go right.

all that said, i am LOVING this stage with you. you are growing and changing so fast...you have something new to show us almost every day. your personality is beginning to shine through and we are finding that you are one mellow little dude with a great sense of humor. here's a top ten list of all my favorite things about you at this moment:

10 the way you smell (most of the time :-). i could bury my nose in your neck and inhale all day long if you'd let me and i didn't have anything else to do :-)

9 how studiously you examine moving parts. you definitely have some mechanical/engineering leanings. you are fasicnated with wheels and balls...really anything that rolls.

8 your determination. you know what you want, and you go get it. for a long time, this meant you used your fish-out-of-water and then your army crawl and now your big-boy crawl and pulling up. whatever it is, you go and get it. you climb over and under and around and through whatever is in your way!

7 your smile. your smile lights up the room, buddy. you have the most adorable dimples, and i love the way your eyes sparkle and crinkle up when you smile.

6 your laugh. i love to hear your voice...i can't wait to hear you speak. in the mean time, your laugh gives me the best idea what your voice will be like. it's very little boy. you laugh with abandon, and you laugh easily. your laugh makes me laugh instantly. between you and sissy (who also has a wonderful laugh), i could literally bust a gut when you guys get me laughing!

5 your cuddliness. now that you're all over the place, you make it known when you want to be held...you just climb right into our laps and up our chests to snuggle. if we're standing, you crawl over and pull up on our legs. i especially love to cuddle you when you're eating or are sleepy...you have to contort your long, tall self to do it, but you nuzzle your head between my shoulder and neck and you get very still and heavy when i rub your head (like i did when you were in my tummy). since daddy is much taller, you have an easier time snuggling with him and can fall asleep in his arms (you can't get comfy enough to sleep in my arms most of the time).

4 giving you a bath. it does not matter how tired or unhappy you are...your bath transforms you into a very happy, smiling boy. i think giving you your bath and cuddling you as you drink your last bottle are my very favorite parts of my day with you.

3 how much you love your sister. you always want to know where she is and now that you're on the move, you follow her around a lot. sometimes you wake up grumpy in the afternoons (when mommy has made you do too much in one day), but as soon as you see sissy or hear her voice, you are all smiles. i know that this will come to an end or change soon enough...when the fighting sets in...but for now, i am really enjoying watching you adore her!

2 your hair. i love red hair. i have always loved red hair. your pop-pop had beautiful red hair in his prime. pop-pop passed away when you were only 7 weeks in my tummy, and i spent my entire pregnancy with you hoping you would have his red hair. and, you do. well, you have your own version of it. yours is so many different colors. in artificial light, your hair looks dark blonde. in sunlight, it looks fire red. in late afternoon sunlight, it is the color of a brand new penny. your hair is soft and curly. i love to rub your head and bury my nose in the soft curls at the back of your neck. i will have to do this as often as i can in the next few months b/c i am sure that very soon i won't be able to do this b/c you will be running away from me or be too busy crashing your toy trucks or digging in the mud or splashing in the creek or chasing a ball...doing what little boys do!

1 my number one favorite thing about you right now is how much you love my hair. when you are awake and playful, you grab my hair in your two tiny fists and just YANK until your heart is content. i do "crazy hair" when you are laying down for a new diaper or your meds...trying to get you to laugh or to distract you from the icky-tasting meds. i tickle your forehead with the ends of my hair, swish my hair around in a big circle, or i use it to play peek-a-boo. all of these things make you laugh and laugh. my favorite, though, is that when i am giving you your last bottle of the day, you want to put your hands in my hair for comfort. i usually have it up in a pony tail, but i let it down and make sure that i tilt my head so that you can reach it...you softly run your hands through my hair as your eyes begin to close and you begin to fall asleep. i can't get enough of this, buddy.

i love you, quinn! i feel so incredibly lucky to have you. when i think about what it took to get pregnant with you, stay pregnant with you, and get you born...i can barely breathe. you are such a gift.

-mommy

Takin' one for the team

2009-07-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

hiya, sweet cheeks

well, it's been a big couple weeks for you, buddy. all kinds of things are happening for you...some are really cool, and some are not.

you just had your first trip to MD to see your nana and your baba. you did AWESOME on the plane. you even slept a little bit each flight. you sleep better in daddy's arms than mommy's...daddy's taller and cushier on top than mommy is. too bad i couldn't cuddle you on my hips or thighs, eh? you got a NASTY cold while in MD (courtesy of sissy, i think). in fact, we all have this cold, but you have it the worst. i took you to the dr. yesterday and it turns out you have a double ear infection, eye infection, and sinus infection. you are on a LOT of meds. you are doing better today. your eyes started getting weepy on friday, and i tried to take you to the dr. that treated daddy when he was little, but they wouldn't take you b/c they'd never seen you before. i worried you'd have pain on the flight, but when it came time to land, you laughed HYSTERICALLY. i find this so odd (and pretty funny) considering that less than 24 hours later you were diagnosed with a double ear infection. the popping sensations in your ears must have tickled. thank god it didn't hurt and that your ear drums didn't rupture. you poor boy! on top of all this, you are getting teeth numbers 7 and 8 on the bottom.

in good news, you are crawling and putting yourself back into a sitting position! you started crawling on hands and knees the day after we got to MD. you don't do it all the time, but you switch between hands and knees and army crawling about 50/50. you've gotten yourself back into a seated position a few times, too. i can't tell if you're doing this on purpose or by accident, though. you're pulling up a lot more, too...and falling down. you've gotten a couple nasty bonks on the head. now that we're home and back in our carpeted house, i expect you will be getting around faster and higher. nana and daddy are taking bets that you will be walking pretty early. i'm betting you will walk pretty close to your first birthday. you do like to take steps when someone's holding your hands, though.

you got to meet two tiny puppies at nana's house, and it was love at first sight...for all of you. the puppies loved having someone down on the floor for them to lick and nuzzle. they played with you pretty well and they nibbled your toes only a few times. the three of you shared toys...it's amazing the parallels between dog toys and baby toys :-)

well, buddy. i need to go check on you. you're taking a longer nap than usual, which i'm sure you need considering that you're recovering from travel AND illness, but i like to check on you nonetheless.

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

Mellow Fellow

2009-07-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

i am sorry it's been so long since i've written. it's been a big month for you. you are ON THE MOVE. you are now all over the house...you are army crawling like a pro. you do spend time on hands and knees, but you haven't tried to crawl in that fashion yet. you will pick up a hand to pound on the floor in front of you or you will hop with your knees and butt, but you don't get the front and back ends going at the same time. i am not sure if you will or if you will just go to pulling up from your tummy. you are trying hard to pull up, but you have not pulled it off yet :-) you also now sit perfectly. we can set you down and you will sit just fine until you are ready to get down and go explore something else. you get down very gracefully and it is this move that shows us you are more than ready to crawl on hands and knees...you just aren't into it yet!

you are one mellow fellow! we took a trip to boerne to see the fam, and you did awesome sleeping in your pack n play at the hotel. you thoroughly enjoyed the hotel pool and stealing food during the free breakfast. you did get a little tired of all the hither and thither and were happy to be home, but i am just amazed at how well you adjusted.

you now have 5.5 teeth. you seem a little bit agitated these last couple days and you keep shoving your fingers in your mouth, so i think more pearly whites are working. you are still sleeping SOOOOO much better than you had been, so i guess they aren't bothering you too much.

we are preparing to go to MD to see your nana. we also will get to see your baba while we're there. i am hoping that this trip will not tax you, and i'm thinking that since we won't be in and out of the car a whole bunch that it won't. you will get to swim in nana's pool, plunder her house (yikes!), and see/play with some other kiddos. it should be a lot of fun. best of all...it's not in the 100s in MD, so we should get to enjoy more time outside. you are definitely becoming an outdoor kinda guy. you will sit quietly yanking and eating grass and dirt for a good 20 minutes. you don't even mind that much when i spend a ton of time swiping dirt and grass out of your mouth ;-p

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

clean sweep

2009-06-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

today, you and i had a bit of a lazy day. we were supposed to go to a playdate, but you ended up napping through the first 40 minutes of the playdate, and with drive time and needing to pick up sissy from school, we ended up just skipping it. you had a rough night last night thanks to those new teeth that are just breaking through...i wasn't going to wake you.

after you woke up, you and i spent some time on the floor...you playing and getting into stuff and me sorting through your clothes. i know a mom who's going to have twin boys this fall, so i'm preparing all your outgrown stuff to pass on to her. the funny thing is, you have outgrown a lot of stuff without ever wearing it. for the most part, you are full on into your 12m clothes. a lot of the 12m clothes we have for you are winter-ish b/c you were born in late fall. so, those got packed up. you were given a lot of 18m stuff that is summer-y, and i'm switching those into your "in"box. i am sure that some will be big on you, but since you are over 30 inches tall, i am sure many of them will fit you just fine.

i would love to start shopping for stuff for you for the fall and winter, but i seriously have no idea what size you will be. i know your growth is going to slow down quite a bit in this next 5 months of your first year, but even still, you will be well over 30 inches at 12m, so you will be somewhere between 18m and 2T in terms of clothing size. right now, you're kinda chubilicious, but i'm pretty sure that once you get mobile, you will be quite thin since you started out thin and are already backing off on milk consumption. oh! who the heck knows, buddy! maybe you'll just be nekid until it gets cold...

love,
mommy

chunky monkey

2009-06-05T07:44:00.001-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

yesterday you turned 7 months old. holy cow, dude...time is absolutely flying! you had an appointment with your pedi GI specialist yesterday, and you passed with flying colors. in fact, the dr. released you from her care. we have instructions for weaning you off the evening dose of your zegerid, which scares me a little. *deep breath* we will start the weaning process at the end of the month.

the doc's office measured you...you came in at just under 21 pounds, 30ish inches (you wouldn't hold still for this one), and with a big 'ol head. we knew all of this except your weight. you have been filling out nicely lately. you have scrumptious thighs, lots of rolls when you sit up, and soft, squishy cheeks for kissing. you gained a pound and 6 oz in exactly 1 month. that's pretty good, dude. you were eating us out of house and home for a couple weeks, but in the last week or so, you are not eating quite as much. you are eating solids REALLY well, and i can't figure out of you are wanting less milk b/c you're filling up on foods or if it's because you have FIVE teeth coming in at one time. suckage dude, suckage! of course, i don't have to tell YOU that since it's your mouth that is full of blisters and drool. you have five blisters across the front of your mouth on the top...4 of them have little white points in the center. if the teeth come in as i expect them to, you will have a lopsided little smile for a bit. too cute.

in other news, you're pretty mobile now. you are finally sitting a little better. you had a bit of a regression with sitting. you went from sitting up to a minute to sitting only a few seconds before you flopped back down. i think the key is that you are not interested in being STILL for very long. i have figured out that putting something to hold onto and hit/grab/pull in FRONT of you works better than supporting you from the back. you will sit for several minutes in this fashion. sometimes you fall back and get yourself back up, too. i'm sure it will all come in good time. in the mean time, i really should be enjoying the fact that i can put you in one area and you stay there. that won't be the case for long. i would like if you were less fussy when i put you down, though...you are just MAD that you can't be up and doing like sissy and me. you lay there and FUSS for a few minutes hoping someone will help you up...when no one does, you just roll all around and scoot to get into things.

i love you mr. man!
-mommy

sleeping in pville

2009-05-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

holy cow, dude! you just put yourself to sleep...for the first time in your 6.5 months of life.

lately you have begun to arch and thrash in our arms when we are trying to rock or bounce you to sleep, so we've gotten in the habit of laying you in the crib and turning on your fishies and/or your mobile so you can watch them and chill a little bit. usually, after about 3 to 5 minutes, you start to fuss and we go up and rock you to sleep, which takes about 5 to 10 minutes.

today, the same thing happened with you thrashing and arching, so i did our new procedure and came downstairs to listen to you on the monitor to determine when you'd need me to go up and help you to sleep. next thing i know, the music's off and you're quiet. so, i tip toe up there to check, and sure enough you've rolled onto your tummy and you're sound asleep. i know i shouldn't bank on this happening regularly...or even ever again, but it was a nice surprise today. way to go, little man!

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

first shiner

2009-05-19T06:44:00.001-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

well, last night you scored your first shiner. it's small, but it breaks my heart. you and daddy were playing on the floor and you did one of your (now infamous) i'm-mobile-really-i-am-watch-me-lunge-out-of-your-arms moves, and you smacked your face on the edge of the bottom shelf of one of the side tables. i wanted to cry right along with you. your little cheek got all puffy and red. this morning, the swelling is down, but there's a small blue bruise right under your eye.

in other news, you're doing pretty well. we're attempting to keep you swaddle free again...it got so that you were breaking out of your double swaddle. now we put you in footie pjs and in a sleep sack, and we put you down on your tummy to keep your arms from pummeling you. it's working out well for you so far. i feel scared and guilty putting you on your tummy, but you roll both ways and have great arm and chest strength. i've also seen you put yourself on your tummy in the crib when i put you on your back (to watch your fishies for a bit when you have trouble settling). so, i'm trying not to worry too much. we keep blankets out of your crib, and you have only small toys. we also put a breathable bumper in so that you don't get your limbs stuck like sissy did.

so...those fishies...you have figured out how to turn them on and you have started doing so in the middle of the night. we hear the music and you talking to them. one time, you even managed to soothe yourself back to sleep watching them. those fishies were a big hit with sissy, too.

you are not crawling yet, but you are scooting quite a bit, and sometimes you roll to get where you want to go. you scoot out of anger, and you get pretty mad anytime we lay you down now. you want so badly to be up and DOING like sissy that you get frustrated. you tried to imitate sissy for the first time yesterday. she was dancing and jumping while you were standing and holding daddy's hands...and you tried to jump and thrash just like sissy. i'm sure there will be much, much more of this as you get older. right now, sissy thinks it's really cool to try to get you to imitate her, but i know shrieks of "mom, he's copying me!!" are just around the corner. it's a good thing i'm so old...maybe i will be partially deaf by the time this all starts ;-p

i love you buddy!
-mommy

slow on the uptake

2009-05-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

well, buddy, your 'rents are scoring the award for the most obtuse right about now. it's a long story, but it's finally dawned on us that you are so agitated/fussy/not sleeping/not eating b/c your reflux has reared its ugly head again.

you have gotten REALLY good at not swallowing your meds/spitting them out. it's a 15-minute challenge to get you to take your meds these days, and it's been difficult if not impossible to figure out how much you're losing and/or need to have replaced. well, the lack of meds in your system is resulting in a HUGE regression. you are almost back where you were at 7 weeks. you cry/need to be held most of the time. you arch and pull off the bottle 2 oz into a feeding. you refuse the bottle after a burp. you are wheezing, coughing, and congested again. and, worst of all, you are gagging and choking again. we had chalked off the last 5 symptoms to the onset of a cold...5 days ago. said cold never showed up. you would think we would have noticed this. nope. obtuse is the word of the day, dude!

we are very sorry sweet little man. we are working hard to get you back on track, though it's going to KILL me to have to do the things i am going to have to do to make you take your meds. i am having to pinch your cheeks AND your nose to get you to swallow the meds. this sucks some serious, serious ass buddy...more for you than for me. maybe. you are over it in about 30 seconds while my heart is still pounding and i'm trying not to cry.

in good news, you are still pretty gigantic. it's a good thing we moved you out of your infant seat and into your convertible last week. you are 29.5 inches tall. your weight gain is slowing...you are at 19 pounds 7 oz...1 lb and 2 oz larger than you were at 5 mo. i am thinking you might have lost or slowed down in the last few weeks with all the not sleeping and not eating stuff. we'll see how you're doing at your next check with the pedi GI in a month. your head circumference is right on target with previous growth. you are just BIG. sissy was your height at about a year. crazy...it's crazy! you are full on into your 12 m clothes, and some of those are too short in the torso.

i love you, buddy. and, i am so sorry i didn't realize what was happening to you sooner so that i could prevent you feeling so rotten. i also am VERY sorry for what i'm going to have to do to you from here on out to get you to take your meds. :-(

love,
mommy

half birthday!

2009-05-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

hiya, buddy!

today you are 6 months old. i cannot believe you have been here this long! it seems like you got here just yesterday...or that you've always been here.

you've had a big month...it's been a whirlwind. you are growing well and doing pretty well with your milestones. you now roll in both directions, though you roll from your tummy to your back more purposefully and consistently than you do from your back to your tummy. you seem to reserve the back-to-tummy motion for diaper changes, wardrobe updates, and getting your favorite toy or something you're not supposed to have (like the camera, nail clippers, or scissors). you are scooting some...you often end up several feet from where i put you. i mostly don't know how you are getting around...i have seen you pull yourself a foot or so to get stuff, but have no idea how you are getting further than that (it always happens when i put you down so i can do some chore). you are doing okay with sitting up, though progress is slow on this front. part of the problem is that once you are up, you spot something you want, and you dive for it. then you're back on your tummy and we're no longer practicing sitting up :-)

you have been having some really major sleep issues this month...going on 6 weeks. you are up many, many times each night and you are often up for hours. i have no idea what's going on, but am eager to talk to your doc about it tomorrow.

you are beginning to really like solids. your favorite is anything we put in your mesh teether. of course, bananas are your ABSOLUTE favorite, which caused us some concern b/c of your tummy issues. it seems that they don't do to you what they do to most folks, but we do limit how much you can have. you are far more interested in grabbing food off our plates than you are in having it off of a spoon. i have a feeling that you will just be so-so on foods until you are closer to being able to safely handle table foods in a few months. we'll see. you eat better for daddy and sissy than you do for me, which makes me scratch my head in wonder.

you had your first trip to sea world a couple days ago. you did pretty well, though you staunchly refused to sleep, resulting in a 36-hour-long sleep strike (you barely slept the night before we went down to SA and had napped very poorly the day before). i think we'll wait a year or so to do that again :-)

you are now copper-bad-dog's biggest fan. i am sure you don't know to miss ippy, but in her absence, you have become enamored with copper. you give him GIGANTIC grins anytime you see him, and you seem to really like when we prop you up on his back. you like to grab handfuls of fur or ears and yank...fortunately, copper's been a very good sport about this.

well, buddy...i'm going to go play with you and daddy on the floor now. i'll write more later (and won't take so long to do it!).

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

sidekick

2009-04-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

hiya, mr. man,

on saturday, you turned 5 months old. you are getting to be such a big boy...i can't believe how fast you are growing and changing. you are rolling from your tummy to your back like a pro now. you just started working on rolling from your back to your tummy today...you stayed on your side, though. i don't think you were really that excited about being on your tummy :-) you are working hard on sitting up. you do pretty well until you fall forward...you aren't able to get your big brain back up very easily so you end up toppling over and onto your tummy, which gets you pretty worked up.

after a full day of fun on saturday, we all came home and realized that something was wrong with our ippy dog. i ended up taking ippy to the emergency vet on saturday night where we learned that she was gravely ill. i took ippy back to the vet sunday morning so that the dr. could gently help ippy go to heaven.

i know you are too young to really miss ippy, but if you could, you would. you seemed to enjoy her immensely. you enjoyed all her kisses/head washings and you grinned and giggled anytime you caught sight of her. i do believe she loved you quite a bit. she became interested in you the minute we brought you home and she made it her personal job to participate in any sleepy-time routines we did with you. she would follow us closely and stay with us anytime we went into your room. if she didn't get there in time to be in the room, she slept outside your door while we rocked you to sleep.

i'm finding your nap time to be really sad right now. the quiet and the solitude give me time to think about ippy and how much i miss her. and then, when you've fallen asleep, i turn to gently wake her and usher her from the room, but she's not there.

i'm sorry i keep crying all over you, buddy. i'm glad that you are too young to understand and/or be upset by my emotions.

i love you, buddy. and ippy loved you, too.
-mommy

milk, teeth, and motion

2009-04-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

wow, so it's been a big couple weeks for you. you are now rolling with a little more purpose. you have figured out how to use your right arm and leg to propel yourself over even though your left arm is all crunched up under you. i've tried straightening your arms either over your head or by your side, and then showing you how to roll by pushing on your opposite foot (you are on your tummy when i'm doing this)...it's not getting across. you've got your own method :-) you've also started really getting your knees up under you and putting your butt in the air...this results in an inchworm move...you scoot around doing this, though i know your goal isn't to move forward...it's to get off your tummy :-)

your two center bottom teeth are finally through! you are sleeping better and are less agitated. i'm incredibly happy for you and sad for my knuckles. those suckers are SHARP.

we've been feeding you an elemental milk-based formula called alimentum for a few weeks now. it slowly became apparent that soy formula just wasn't working for you...it prevented you from being able to make any dirty diapers. even the baby laxative, lactulose, didn't help you. so, we put you on alimentum, and TADA...your tummy works! the only drawback is that this formula costs a fortune. so starting this past weekend, i started doing a milk challenge with you. i've begun introducing a partially broken down milk formula little bits at a time. so far, you're handling it well. you are up to 1.5 oz of the milk formula with 4 to 5 oz of alimentum. this weekend, i will move you up to 2 oz of milk formula per bottle. i will keep you at 2 for a while since that comprises nearly half of each of your meals...prolly for at least a week. i'm hoping by the time you turn 6 months, we will have you completely switched to the partially broken down milk formula. target makes its own version of this formula, and it's much less expensive than the name brand version of the same formula, and it's about 1/3 as expensive as the alimentum.

blast the damned broken boobies! that's a sad tale for another day.

i love you, buddy! i love watching you grow and change and thrive!
-mommy

special visitor

2009-03-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

dear mr. man,

today you got a visit from one of my most dear friends, your auntie taz. it's been a few months since we've seen each other thanks to lots of icky bugs and just plain busy schedules. you thoroughly enjoyed flirting with her, showing off your new tooth (OUCH for taz), and getting your tummy rubbed. i'd say you are just as enamored with auntie taz as sissy is :-) don't worry, i'll make sure you get to see her again soon :-) and, in just a couple months, auntie taz will be having a little girl whom i am sure will be a favorite playmate for you since you will be so close in age!

love,
mommy

sleepless in pville

2009-03-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

listen, buddy, i love you more than life itself, but i am too old to party with you all night long. getting a series of 2-hour naps all night long does nothing for my verve, 'kay? i know you're restless b/c those teeth are bothering you. YAY for one of those little buggers finally coming through, but i know the other one is still driving you nuts. and, i know that your growing brain is doing all sorts of new and cool things right now and that this causes your sleep to change, but man, i can't keep up with you buddy!

this morning you were up at 1 a.m. and again at 4:30 a.m. it's taking longer to soothe you back to sleep right now b/c you're so restless, so, on average, i'm able to get back to sleep about an hour or so after you wake. well, when i put you back down at 5 after your 4:3o feeding, you stayed asleep for only a few minutes before you started softly cooing and singing to yourself. i listened to your vocals for about 20 minutes before you settled and we both fell asleep. it seems we were asleep for no more than 20 minutes when you started singing and cooing again. i listened to you, hoping you'd fall back to sleep...no dice. you just ramped up the sound and started to get fussy. so, i sprung you from your prison. we went downstairs, got fresh pants, got dressed for the day and settled down to cuddle and play on your playmat. that lasted about 7 minutes before you started making you're "i'm exhausted whimper". so, i gave you some teething tablets, fixed you some milk, and went to wake daddy to ask him to take over so i could go back to sleep. i was swaddling you again as daddy came downstairs (yeah, you're back in the swaddle!), and when he took over, you konked out in less than 5 minutes! i guess you reserve your partying for me :-)

tonight you ended up getting your bath and dinner and bedtime about an hour earlier than you usually do. i put a whole queen sized sheet set over your window to make it dark enough to be like night in your room. i have no idea what tonight holds. i'm guessing it'll be another long one. i should get to sleep soon so that i have a better shot at keeping up with you :-)

i love you, you non-sleeping boy!
-mommy

a couple firsts and a couple looks back

2009-03-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

hi, mr. man!

it's been a while, eh? well, you're doing great...growing like a happy little weed and making all kinds of big progress with all your cool baby tricks. you rolled from your tummy to your back this week. once. i didn't get to see it. i put you down on your tummy, and then i went to brush my teeth and put my makeup on. i could hear you complaining a bit, but not too much. after i got myself ready, sissy asked me to put her hair up. i could still hear you complaining...for a couple minutes, and then you sounded quite happy. as soon as i finished sissy's hair, i came to check on you and found you happily lying on your back with a HUGE grin of accomplishment on your face. you've been inching around and making some moves like you might be ready to roll for a couple weeks, but this was your first solo success. we haven't seen you repeat it yet, but i'm sure it's just a matter of time.

another first you had recently was riding in a swing at the park. um. you LOVED it. you grinned and kicked your legs the entire time you were in the swing. i took you out just because i felt guilty leaving you in one activity for so long...usually, you like to switch it up pretty often. i think we found your favorite (for now) activity, though. we've taken you two more times since your first time, and you've been super happy about swinging each time. i think we will get you a bucket swing of your own for the playscape here at home.

so, march is a HUGE month in your life. you came to be in my tummy in late february of last year, and initially everything looked great. but, it soon became apparent that something wasn't quite right for you. we didn't think we were going to get to meet you, quinn. we thought you were going to go to heaven. your numbers just weren't "right"...the numbers that indicated how you were growing and developing weren't climbing the way they were supposed to. i am so grateful, humbled, and just plain in awe of the fact that you are here...that you survived and thrived despite the statistics that weren't in your favor. i can't even begin to explain how lucky and blessed i feel to have been able to carry you in my tummy and give birth to you and to now be your mommy.

in the middle of all the sadness and worry we were having about you last march, we got some really bad news about your pop-pop (daddy's daddy). after six months of struggling with major health issues including a pneumonia that cultured with MRSA bacteria, your pop-pop's health took a turn for the worse. daddy was able to get home in time to see pop-pop and say good-bye, but you and sissy and i were too late. we were able to spend some time with family, though, and to be there for daddy during such a difficult time. i'm so glad that you bear so much resemblance to your pop-pop and that you have his name in yours. we will tell you all about him as you grow and make sure you know what an amazing man your pop-pop was.

i love you buddy,
-mommy

lukewarm turkey and a retraction

2009-03-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

hiya, mr. man!

first, the retraction. i blogged a while back that you'd gotten your first tooth and then your second. well, i am wrong. you have two gigantic lumps of sore, swollen skin where those teeth will eventually be, but the teeth have not broken through yet. i guess that you will be like sissy in this regard. every single one of her teeth took MONTHS to come in and tortured her mercilessly in its coming. i'm not sure what it was i felt when i thought your teeth had come through, but it wasn't teeth :-)

and now, for the lukewarm turkey (there is a segue coming...but it's after the fact, so i guess it isn't a segue). you are now swaddle proof. and, we kinda went cold turkey on you...well, more lukewarm turkey b/c we did try to swaddle you in the early morning hours if you couldn't go back to sleep.

after finding you either busted out of your confines or with the whole top half of your confines soaked in drool (b/c you'd push your fist up far enough to chew on it while it was still encased in your confines), i gave up. you now sleep either in the long-sleeved sleep sack thingies that your grammie got you (which are technically too short...you can't straighten your legs out) or in a brand new luxe sleep sack that we got you. you're doing pretty well most of the time, but the combination of no swaddle and badly behaving teeth buds has you waking more often and/or having a harder time going to sleep sometimes. it doesn't help that you have gotten so long that you don't fit comfortably against my chest now...you push with your legs and end up "jumping" in my lap. so, your go-to-sleep routine has changed a little, too...you are happier when i stand to rock/sway you...that way, your bottom and legs are suspended. previously, i would bounce you on the yoga ball for a while and then rock you in your dark, soothing room. no dice. you're not comfy with the yoga ball anymore. sometimes i can just walk you upstairs and sway you around your room for a while. other times, getting you to sleep is a marathon of different tactics.

i love you, my no-so-easy-sleeping little boy!
-mommy

4-month stats

2009-03-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

dear mr. man,

i think we're going to change your nickname. these three are in the running:

jumpy squirrel... b/c you jump non-stop. your legs are going a mile a minute even when you have nothing to jump from.
barnacle baby... b/c you wrap your little hands and fingers around my fingers/hands/arms when i'm trying to feed you or give you your meds. this results in your bottle going everywhere but in your mouth, which frustrates you to no end.
sputnik... b/c your head circumference is not really that much smaller than your sissy's...and she's 33 months older than you are (and her head is also large for her age).

well, we might stick with mr. man, we'll see :-)

you had your 4-month well check today. you are 16 pounds and 11 ounces, you are 27 inches tall, and your head circumference is 17 inches. these numbers put you in the 75th/97th/75th percentiles, respectively. in plain english, you are a big boy. you and sissy seem to be following daddy's growth pattern. he also was a big baby and child.

somewhere along the way, daddy's growth pattern slowed down to a "normal" pace and he is now an avg. sized man. i, on the other hand, was a very tiny baby, and it took me almost 3 years to get to an average size. by the time i was a pre-teen, i was super tall and thin for my age, but then by the time i was in my late teens, i was just a little bit taller than average and was an average weight. it all evens out in the end, i think. there is a good chance that you are taking after your pop-pop who was 6 foot 4 in his prime. we'll just have to see!

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

the plague

2009-03-02T19:49:00.001-08:00

hello, mr. man!

good lord, child! you have just gotten one cold after another since the last week of january. i'm so sorry, buddy! right now, you have this pretty nasty virus that gives you fever for much of the day and causes your nose and eyes to be very congested. you are still reasonably happy and eating well, though. you are also having some trouble with those two teeth...they're taking their sweet time coming in, but they're not letting up on all the aggravation they give you. i'm sorry, buddy. i hope your little body gets a break soon.

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

big boy!

2009-02-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

hey, mr. man!

tomorrow you will be 16 weeks old, and next week, you will be 4 months old. you are growing and changing so fast, i can barely keep up with you!

you had your appt. with the pedi GI specialist last week, and she changed your meds a bit. your tummy seems to be feeling SOOOOO much better. it is pure joy to see you so happy and contented so much of the time.

the doc measured and weighed you...you're now 26.25 inches tall and weighed 16.3 pounds last week. since you have your 4-month well check next week, i am eager to see exactly how much you grow in just 2 weeks.

you are getting your two bottom center teeth right now. the little buggers seem to be giving you some discomfort, but you're doing pretty well through it.

your hair is getting redder and redder, and your eyes are getting blue-er. is that possible?!?! you are able to enjoy tummy time more now... you get your head and chest up well. you are also doing great with your bumbo and jumperoo. when we lay you in our laps, you fight to sit up. you're so over this horizontal stuff.

well, buddy...i'm gonna write sissy a letter and head to dream land so that i am ready for your next feeding.

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

the dryer?

2009-02-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

hey, mr. man!

as i type this, you are sleeping in your car seat on top of the dryer. the dryer is running. nope...there's no laundry in it. this is an attempt to keep you sleeping...it's been a rough morning. you've been doing a fantastsic job of settling into a good night-time sleep routine for the past couple weeks, but last night was a break from the norm for you. you were up 3x in 7 hours. i am pretty sure you're in a growth spurt...you are eating really well, which is just delightful to us as you have had so much trouble eating in your short life. you were quite hungry all night last night despite eating every couple hours during the day yesterday, too. i am expecting you to grow out of your 6-month clothes any minute :-)

well, i should take advantage of the quiet and get my lunch before you need yours.

i love you buddy!
-mommy

so that 'splains it

2009-02-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

mr. man! you are getting your very first tooth! literally minutes after i blogged that you were doing better and eating better yesterday, the opposite became true. you didn't want to finish your bottles yesterday afternoon and evening, and you seemed fragile...not the same way you do when your tummy hurts...you just wanted to be held and to have your nuk at all times. today, you've been eating poorly and have been prefering, instead, to chew on your fist. so, i very rudely stuck my finger in your mouth...your bottom right center tooth is breaking through. way to go, buddy...but please slow down a bit. even though this newborn phase is not really all that easy for anyone, i am not ready for you to be bigger yet. i want to keep you tiny. you are my last little baby, and i want to savor the experience...every last stressful second of it :-)

oh, and you slept the whole night in your crib last night (from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. you did wake to eat 2x, as usual). you slept so much more soundly than you do in our room. you didn't talk and fuss and wiggle around like you do in our room. *sigh* that means i have to do the mature thing and let you stay in your room rather than bringing you back to our room. being the grown up isn't always so much fun :-)

the end of the fourth trimester

2009-02-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

hey, mr. man!

first of all, it occurs to me that i should 1) explain why i've called you "van" up until now and 2) i should stop calling you "van". so, when you were still inside my tummy, daddy and i had made the decision that your middle name would be van trawver in honor of your late pop-pop. his middle name was van trawver. so, we kinda in-the-tummy nicknamed you van. well, when you were born and we saw that your hair was red, we made the impromptu decision that your middle name would be "rusty"...also after your late pop-pop. you see, he also was born with red hair. he had beautiful red hair t/o his life and was called rusty his entire life (though it was not his official name). later in life, he had beautiful silver hair...it happens to the best of us. so, your full name is quinntin rusty anderson.

now, i've been calling you mr. man for a while now, and i think it might stick as your nickname. we'll see. you smile pretty big when i greet you for the day by calling you mr. man.

so, down to business. on wednesday, 2/4, you will be 3 months old! you are doing really well these past couple weeks. your tummy issues are settling down. you actually started eating better just in the last couple days. you are growing so fast. you have blown straight thru your 3 month clothes and even your 3/6 month clothes. you are full-on into your 6 and 9 month clothes now. you are just about 26 inches tall and you are around 15 pounds. you are wearing a size 2 diaper pretty comfortably, and despite my love of all things bulk, i am restraining myself from buying you too many diapers in size 2 b/c i imagine you'll be in a 3 in no time.

in the past couple days, you've started doing a couple of big-boy things that are bitter-sweet for me. you have started napping in the afternoon and sleeping the first part of the night in your crib (you still pretty staunchly refuse to sleep more than 20 minutes in the morning). we have your room nice and dark and you have a noise machine, and the combination seems to help soothe you. lord knows it's quieter and calmer than hangin' out in all the daylight with your dancing, singing sissy....though she is all kinds of good entertainment. you also have begun to have times when you want to be put down to play/look at stuff instead of just being held. this one's a little hard at first, but very liberating. the whole sleeping-in-your-room thing is much harder. i have a hard time sleeping when you're not near me. i like for you to be just 3 feet away, but i know it's best for you to be in your own room. i'm going to have to do something about your squeaky door so i can come in and check on you without disturbing you.

another big-boy thing you've been doing is settling very happily into a night-time routine. prior to just now (i'm making a decision on the fly, i think), i've been giving you your bath every other night. but, seeing how fast you relax, how well you eat, and how well you fall asleep on bath nights, i'm going to move you up to a daily bath routine. you do have pretty sensitive skin, so i think you will be soapy every other day and warm/lotioned every day. i am guessing i will not get any arguments from you since bath time is always calm and happy (with a chance of splashes) for you.

i love you, buddy. i am so blessed to have you in my life and can't imagine life without you. in some ways these three months have just flown by and it's like you just got here, but it also seems like you've always been here.

love,
mommy

the sickies

2009-01-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

oh, van! you are 12 weeks old today and suffering with your first cold. you're a trooper, though. you are pretty cheery for a wee one with a stuffy nose. i also have a cold, and mine has a little bit of sore throat, so i imagine that yours does, too. i'm glad that you are this "old" for your first cold...i was afraid it would happen much sooner given that your sissy is out and about with lots of other children all the time. i know this is part of the deal...part of growing up. but, it pains me to see my children feel badly.

you and i are headed off to the store to get you some baby vicks for your little chest and maybe a humidifier, too. there are lots of warm snuggles in your future (as if there weren't already ;-p).

love,
mommy

11 weeks

2009-01-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

dear van,

well, you're 11w2d old now, and you're growing fast. you're still having a ton of issues with your tummy, and it's making us so sad for you. i am taking you to see a specialist next month. in the mean time, your regular doc has put you on some new meds that help a little. i keep waiting for the miracle cure. i don't think it's coming.

you are getting to be such a big boy! you are still not crazy about tummy time, but you lift your head/neck/chest to look around...mostly to find where we've gone and to figure out why we haven't rescued you yet. you have begun "talking" more...you make some really exuberant coos and squeals. you just recently found both your tongue and your hands. you stick your tongue out a lot...often in response to us sticking ours out at you. also, you like to chew on your little fists. you've begun drooling....i think your tiny little teeth buds might be sending you some messages. i hope teething is easier/faster for you than it was for your sissy.

speaking of sissy.....wow do you love her! there are days where your tummy just hurts so bad that you can't smile much. well, unless sissy's around...then you follow her all around with your eyes and turning your head, and you grin whenever you catch sight of her face. right now, this is my favorite part of being your mommy. well, that and kissing you, holding you, snuggling you, hugging you, and smelling you (most of the time :-).

we just bought you a bumbo chair so that you can sit up sometimes. i'm starting to get really worried that learning all these cool baby tricks will be so much harder for you since you don't get a lot of play time in between extended meal times and short nap times. b/c of your tummy issues, it sometimes takes you an hour and a half to drink your milk. after that, you fuss and then crash out for about 30 minutes, and then the cycle repeats. there isn't much time for play in there. i've started trying to delay your meals and put you down for tummy time or on your exercise mat or in your crib to look at your mobile (which you LOOOOOOVVVVVEEE)...this usually makes you pretty mad, but it gives you more play time than you were originally getting.

i wish i had a magic wand, buddy. i would wave your pain away and make all your days sunny and fun. i hope the doctor you're going to see in a couple weeks has said magic wand (or pill or potion or whatever).

i love you more than words can ever express, buddy!
-mommy

two months!

2009-01-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

dear van,

you turned 2 months old on sunday. wow! i can't believe you've been here that long and that you've only been here that long.

on tuesday, i took you for your 2-month well check. it went pretty well. the doc and i discussed your reflux and the fact that your meds have made you feel better but that they are not a 100% fix. i guess i'm dreaming if i think there is such a thing. you got your vaccinations on tuesday, and that was torture for both of us. wednesday was a really tough day for both of us as you did not feel well and did not want to be put down at all. in addition to having gotten your vaccinations on tuesday, you also helped me to go a dr. appt. of my own, and as a result, you got NO sleep for nearly 7 hours. that's just not a good idea for a man of your age :-)

today is thursday, and you're doing much better. you've had a great day. niiiiccceee! it's even been a great day in terms of your tummy...you've eaten well all day today. you even agreed to sleep in your cradle swing for a whole 30 minutes! you haven't slept well in weeks. when you're only 9 weeks old, "weeks" is a large chunk of your life. i cringe to think if the sleep deficit you must be in.

i'm really hoping that the next few weeks bring you more peace and comfort. i ordered a book, thanks to a friend's recommendation, that i am hoping will help me better help you with your tummy issues.

well, i have much to tell the world about the goings on of you and your big sissy, so i better get to it!

i love you, buddy!
-mommy

Catching Up

2008-12-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

dear van,

today you are 8 weeks old. you just celebrated your first christmas and met your nana for the first time. you're getting to be such a big boy! you are around 14 pounds and 25 inches. your hair is coming in, and it's the most gorgeous strawberry blonde. it's so soft and fuzzy...i love to rub your little head, and you love to have it rubbed.

you smile a lot now, and you have even giggled a couple times. you sometimes even smile right AT us :-)

you are starting to enjoy your toys a bit...tummy time is more successful than it was with your sissy. you also seem to like your play gym for short periods of time. you still love your bouncy best, though. well, actually, baths trump the bouncy any day of the week. you LOOOOOOOVVVVEEE your bath. even when you are your saddest, you calm down for your bath. you are already enjoying kicking/splashing your bath water all over the place, though i'm sure you don't know you're doing it :-)

lately you have been having a REALLY hard time with your tummy. tomorrow we will go see your doctor to see what we can do for you. you can hardly sleep during the day...you wake about every 15 minutes. you are so sad...you cry and cry and you arch your back. i'm so sad for you. fortunately, you are still sleeping reasonably well at night...you are back to waking more often, and your 5 am feeding seems to cause you a lot of pain, but we can usually bounce you/rock you/walk you back to sleep for a couple more hours. i hope your doctor has some good answers/solutions tomorrow! daddy and i will be springing (with the help of your auntie rayo and your bonus aunties, tika and nano) for a deluxe cradle swing for you. we've noticed that you calm down when we put you on our glider ottoman lengthwise and rock you back and forth. here's hoping the cradle swing will help you get better quality sleep during the day.

love,
mommy

long time no see

2008-12-09T09:36:00.001-08:00

dear van,

it's been a while, eh? today you are 5 weeks old. you are the most adorable little guy. you have the most kissable little cheeks, the biggest blue eyes, and the most precious dimples when you smile. you're a happy little guy when your 'rents aren't messing with your tummy. you are having some digestive issues, so we tried changing your food...no dice. the new food didn't work for you and all it did was cause you more distress for a couple days. we're sorry!

you're a tall dude...you're now 24 inches long. and, you weigh around 11 pounds now. you are super tall and skinny. you are starting to get some new hair on the top of your head, but for the most part, you have the most adorable little old man hair-do :-) you love to have your head rubbed and to have your feet tickled and kissed. you are smiling more and more these days, and i'm thinking that those smiles aren't all by accident. for example, you cracked a big smile the last time i kissed your toes :-) you respond to your sissy's voice with rapt attention and smiles, too.

i can't believe that 5 weeks have already passed. it's been a whirlwind. when you were 1 week old, both mommy and daddy got really sick and had to go to the hospital. being away from you for that week was the hardest thing ever. i'm so glad that you didn't know we were gone. sissy had a really rough time with everything and is still recovering. it's so hard to explain things like medical emergencies to kiddos.

we're all on the mend now and looking forward to fun times ahead. we're getting ready for your first christmas! you will be getting a visit from your grammie, your aunt kimmy, and your nana. you're going to get a lot of snuggles.

it almost seems trite to say it b/c it just doesn't convey the depth, but i love you buddy. you are the prince of my heart. i am so blessed to have you and your sissy, the princess of my heart.

love,
mommy

You're HERE!

2008-11-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

dear van!

you're here, buddy! you're REALLY here! you arrived on 11/4 at 6:34 p.m. you were 7 pounds and 12 oz and 22 inches long. you have gorgeous auburn hair, and you're one tall, skinny dude.

you've been home with us for about 3 days now, and you are pure joy. we love you so much, buddy, and we're so glad you are part of our family.

sissy loves you. she talks to you and about you all the time. she, fortunately, is not in your kool-aid too much, though...that worried me...that she might pester you constantly and stress you (and me) out.

your entrance into this world was a bit traumatic, but you are none the worse for it. you're quite a trooper.

it's just about time for me to go to sleep for a bit before you are ready to have some more milk and cuddles. more later...

love,
mommy

what will i do first?!?!

2008-11-01T19:35:00.001-07:00

dear van,

i am absolutely consumed with thoughts of you. i cannot wait to meet you. i can't wait to see what color your hair is. how long your fingers are. how cute your feet are. how soft and swirly your ears are. how squishy your bum is. what color your eyes are. if you have eyebrows (sissy didn't for a long time). what shape your nose is. whose chin you have. we already know you have daddy's cheeks!

i can't wait to learn how to feed you. to hear you cry. to watch you squirm. to figure out how to diaper you (i have never diapered a baby boy!).

i can't wait to watch you sleep. listen to you breathe. see if you have hiccups as much on the outside as you do on the inside. see if your legs always want to be up by your ears after 6 months of them being in that position.

i can't wait to find out if you like to sleep. or if you like to look around. or if you like to cry and command attention.

i can't wait to see your daddy hold you. your sissy hold you. all your aunties hold you.

i can't wait to bring you home and to be your devoted mommy for the next 70+ years...

love,
your quinn-crazed mommy

mmmmm....spoiled rotten already :-)

2008-11-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

dear van,

tonight, your auntie rayo and your two honorary aunties, tika and nano, threw us a baby shower! it was delightful. you and i enjoyed some very delicious food and several hours of fun and lively conversation. much of the conversation was about you :-) your aunties have totally spoiled us...you are SET on diapers for quite a while, and you scored some really cool toys and gifts. plus, your aunties hooked us up with some moola to get you a deluxe swing...if you swing that way (har har har). if you don't (we have a very basic swing for you to try out first), we will have no problem spoiling you with other goodies :-)

we are very blessed, and you are very loved...and very anticipated. we are all counting down to thursday.

love,
mommy (not to mention your aunties :-)

just one week

2008-10-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

7 days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes.

dear van,

that's how much time until you are in our arms. we CANNOT wait! of course, you could be here sooner if you so choose, but we know you won't be here too much later. we are all counting down the days, hours, and minutes until you are here, van. did i mention we can't wait? your sissy is especially excited!

i'm off to fluff your nest some more!

love,
mommy

p.s. i forgot to recap the story behind the name/description of your blog. in the first trimester, and really most of the second trimester, too, you wouldn't allow me to eat egg salad. it made me really sick anytime i ate it :-) i like to tease you about this b/c egg salad had been my FAVORITE sandwich ever before you started growing in my tummy. well, thankfully, you lifted the ban on egg salad in the third trimester, and i've been enjoying my favorite sandwich pretty often in these last three months. thank you, buddy!

way to go, dude!

2008-10-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

dear van,

YOU DID IT, BUDDY! you moved into a head-down position. i'm so proud of you! now, we might be able to get you out the traditional route. this would be better for both of us.

you are quite the big boy....you're measuring about 1.5 to 2 weeks ahead on lengths and circumfrences. your estimated weight is 7#9oz, which is classified as 90th percentile for a 38-weeker ( you are 37 weeks in the tummy today).

go, you! i'm so excited that you are in a good position now. now i am not so scared that my labor will start and stress you out. you're now in the best/safest position for labor!!!

love,
(your excited) mommy

home sweet home

2008-10-19T19:26:00.001-07:00

dear van,

it's just a couple more weeks until you join us on the outside, and today, we finished your bedroom and playspace in the living room. we are SET. you have lots of adorable clothes, soft pajamas, grammie-made blankets, and a few toys. we can't wait until you are here with us!

now, i just have to pack the bags that you and i will use while we're in the hospital, and daddy has to get your carseat installed, and then we're ready to go!

woooooooooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooo! i wish the next two weeks could go by faster!

love,
mommy

4--Week Notice

2008-10-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

dear van,

today marks 4 weeks until you are scheduled to join us via a hole in mommy's tummy. right now, the hole is our only option b/c of your position (you are still laying in a transverse position), but should you turn head down, we might still opt for the hole-in-the-tummy option. we're not sure yet b/c we're waiting to get an estimate of your size. i'm voting BIG :-)

you are becoming even more fun to watch and feel. i know you're running out of room, and for that i am sorry, but it does make it easier to see you. today, you have somehow gotten one of your legs down from around your ear and you have it/your foot wedged into the left side of my groin. this is equal parts funny and uncomfortable :-) i can still feel your other foot over the top of my right hip, so i guess you still have that leg up by your ear. you poor guy...that does not sound comfy. i should start calling you gumby.

today, a special friend of mine (and a special auntie to you), tika, came over to help me organize stuff for your room and to help me get more of your room set up. i'm not exactly brimming with energy these days, so the help was very welcome. washing and folding your tiny, adorable clothes was GREAT fun. i'm a bit of an organizational freak (about some things but not others), and i'm thoroughly enjoying figuring out the best, most efficient ways to organize the spaces you will live in for your first several months. did i mention you get to sleep next to mommy and daddy when you come home? i'm looking forward to that.

we will get to learn more about you next week, we should get to see you, and we will get to listen to you, too. we will have an exciting week next week :-)

love,
mommy

Exit Exam

2008-10-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

dear van,

yesterday, you had your first non-stress test (NST), and you passed with flying colors. your heartbeat was beautifully variable, you kicked and rolled several times (many times you seemed to be kicking your monitors or trying to roll away from them), and i had just one contraction while on the monitor. you and i will be doing this test weekly until you are ready to exit your current residence. this test just lets us know how you are feeling in your environment and helps us make sure that my health conditions are not negatively affecting you.

daddy and i thoroughly enjoyed listening to you. your heartbeat lulled us into a bit of a trance, and we just sat there thinking and talking quietly about you and how much we can't wait to meet you.

love,
mommy

beautiful

2008-09-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

dear van,

we got to see 3D pics of you today! van, you are BEAUTIFUL! i know that someday you will tell me that i'm not allowed to call you beautiful b/c you're a boy and boys aren't "beautiful", but trust me, you are! at the risk of not giving you your own identity, i do have to tell you that you look JUST like your sissy did when she was an infant. it is truly remarkable how much you look like your sissy and your daddy. you are pretty much the spitting image of your daddy. you have a full head of hair. you have beautiful chubby cheeks. and you have deliciously wrinkly knees. i can't wait to kiss and nibble them.

speaking of waiting. please WAIT! lately, i've been having a lot of contractions, which, in reality, are my issue and not yours. but, please don't get any ideas about coming out too early. i want you to bake and grow big(ger) and strong(er) before you make your debut. i promise it's more comfy in there than out here...at least at first.

so, i realize i still owe you some back information since i messed up and deleted your first blog. let's start with your name. your given name will be quinntin van trawver anderson. we will call you quinn, the mighty quinn, super q, honey, baby, sugar pie and any number of other sappy nicknames :-) your first name comes from your daddy...he chose the name 19 years ago from the song "The Mighty Quinn" by Bob Dylan. i do love the name! i kinda feel cheated out of hunting for your perfect name, but hey, we already had it! van trawver is for your pop-pop. pop-pop had to leave us when you were just 7 weeks in the tummy. he was a super special guy, and we'll tell you all about him as you grow. it's an honor for you to share his middle name. also, his middle name is where we get your in-the-tummy nickname, "van".

so, since my body seems to want to squeeze you regularly, we are headed to the doc tomorrow to check on you and find ways to keep you in as long as possible.

today, we did something fun! we went and got these 3D pics of you! here's what i'm talking about:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

love,
mommy

starting again b/c i clicked the wrong button!

2008-09-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

dear van,

i clicked the wrong button and deleted your blog! i'm soooooooo sad! i was keeping letters to you from the time you were 14 weeks old in the tummy, and now they are gone. i'm sorry little guy. i will do my best to repeat those thoughts, but i know it's not the same.

today you are 30 weeks in the tummy. i got some bad news today that i have a health condition called gestational diabetes. this condition can be hard on you and it worries me that my bad habits are affecting you. i will be meeting with a couple different types of doctors soon to find solutions to keep you safe.

so, let's do some catching up here. you are mommy and daddy's 2nd baby and first boy. you have a big sister we call "bug". she's 2.5 years old, and is quite the amazing little person. she already loves you and talks about you constantly. she now hugs and kisses you goodnight. and, she's taking her job of teaching you about your toys very seriously (she practices how to use your toys ;-p).

your entrance into this world/my womb was non-standard and miraculous. we will tell you all about it some day. suffice it to say that we are extremely humbled by your presence and we are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad to be expecting you and cannot wait to meet you.

you have been a busy guy since you arrived in your cozy little home. you spend a lot of time helping me entertain your sissy, and as a result, you've already had some pretty spectacular "firsts". for example, you have had two airplane rides already, you've been to the beach, and you've been in a few pools. it will be that much more fun when you get to experience them on the outside, though :-)

we have been busy getting lots of clothes and toys for you (thanks to generous friends and family!), and daddy just finished painting your room this past weekend. i think you will like it. your sissy helped paint it, too. she says it's "pretty".

oh, buddy. i can't believe i lost all the thoughts i had jotted down for you. i will do my best to recreate them all here, but this is a decent start.

love,
mommy