Thanksgiving Past

Both Thanksgiving 2010 and 2011 were spent with Granddaddy Jake and Omi in Colorado Springs.  We were grateful to be spending that time with family, and more grateful that Dr. Tim Hart, their neighbor and friend could be there, too.  Tim is really more like family to us all at this point, and he is one of the kindest most generous people I've ever known.  In anticipation of this great American Tradition, we took Quinn to his first pumpkin patch to take in some of the local festivities.  We went to Anderson Farms in Erie, Colorado, and had a great time!  I can really see this being an annual thing.  Part of the hayride takes you through a pumpkin patch where you may choose any pumpkins you like and just pay for them later.  They have gourds, too.  Well, the second we got off the wagon Quinn walked right over to the patch and found a gourd that he proceeded to guard with his life for the remainder of the day.  He dropped it and picked it up more times than I could count--but he was not going to lose that damn gourd!  It really was quite perfect, too--as you'll see from the picture.  We had such a fun day dragging him around in the buggy and showing him little animals to pet.  He became quite proficient at both spotting and identifying pumpkins on our daily walks, pointing to various porches and proclaiming "pahnkee" every time he saw one!

Halloween Past

Quinn was only a month old when his first Halloween (2010) rolled around, so needless to say, we didn't really do anything for him.  We just stayed home and handed out candy.  Originally, before I even gave birth,  I threatened Rich with dressing him up as a girl for halloween (pink tutu and everything) because I had wanted a girl so badly, but the minute he was born I knew he was exactly what I had always dreamed of inside and he was all boy!  I wouldn't dare pretend even for a second that my precious baby boy was a girl.  So, we didn't do much that night.  Halloween 2011 was quite different though because it was his first "real" halloween in that we celebrated it properly.  We found the perfect outfit for him: Winnie the Pooh!  It was perfect because Quinn has a life-size Winnie the Pooh bear that his Dad found at Babies R Us one day that wasn't even for sale but that Rich got them to sell us anyway.  The minute he saw it he wanted it for Quinn.  To date, it is the best purchase we've ever made because Quinn ADORES it!  I have video of him practically humping it!  Many mornings, he will go right over to Winnie and give him hugs and kisses and loves.  When we went out to trick-or-treat, we only went to about 4 houses right on our street and everyone just oohed and aahed at how cute he was bobbling around.  He picked it right up though--holding on to his little pail by the handle and wobbling up to each house and waiting for a bucket of treats to be handed to him--of which he would instantly stick his hand in and take a few out, tossing them into his own bucket.  He really had a great time but Rich and I had a better one watching our little guy go.

Our Sweet Boy

This morning Quinn wanted to play with his new blocks right after he had his milk and he did such a good job figuring out what "the other way around" meant right away.  He was so proud of himself and would hi-five me when he completed a set of 3 and placed them on the counter.  Later, when I was finishing changing his diaper, his head hit my eye and I cried out in pain.  He immediately hugged me to show his empathy.  Then, he pulled his head back, looked me in the eyes, and puckered his lips to kiss me.  Then he gently patted my head in the area he thought was injured.  He is truly such a gentle, kind, and compassionate little guy.  When I read him his Clifford the big red dog book, he always puts his face to the page when Clifford is crying.  He is trying to show support for Clifford.  He does this with a lot of his books now, kissing the character or putting his face to their face on the page to show he feels badly for them.  The women at the YMCA always said he would do this to the other children too when they were hurt or sick.  I remember one of the women telling me Quinn kissed his friend Brooke and "petted" her back when she was very sick and lying down on her blanket, and that this surprised her because he was much younger than a typical child would be to show this type of empathy (he was about 14 months)  OUR BOY!  So much sweetness...

Goobie Goobie Goo!

This is the song I always sing to you and is done in the tune of the Scooby Doo song: "Goobie goobie goo, you're so cute, and your Mommy loves you.  Daddy loves you too, yes it's true, Goobie Goobie Goobie!"  You laugh and giggle when, at the end, I say Goobiegoobiegoobiegoobie over and over.  You should know that Daddy coined the phrase Goobie Goo though.  It just seemed to fit.  Man, I love my little Goobie Goo. xo

More favorite photos

I am still figuring out how to do this blog and can't seem to get it right.  Still, one thing I can do is post photos, so below are a few more shots that I love.  One is of Quinn in the Baby Bjorn before one of our beloved walks, one is of him doing "tummy time" so I'd guess was about around 4 or 5 months old, and some others are shots with his Dad.  I just love the one on the couch with Quinn in the yellow sleep sack and the sun coming through.  Even with hair or teeth yet, not to mention words, you can see how happy and contented our little bunners is. 

Quinn's First Birthday!

These are only a few of the many wonderful birthday pictures we have for Quinn.  It was SUCH a happy day.  Actually, it was September 18--the day before his birthday--though the next day we took him to daycare with another little cake to share with his friends there.  But this day we met at the park right near our house where Quinn usually plays.  We knew it would be a big day for him, so we wanted someplace close where he was comfortable.  Most of the family was there, including Gammy and Grance, Wendy and Christien and Kiernan, and Granddaddy Jake and Omi.  They were all so sweet with him, showering him with attention.  Granddaddy Jake had a real way of making him giggle, which was adorable.  Cousin Kiernan was also so wonderful at being patient with him and letting him have the limelight.  He also brought Quinn his very first balloon--which was by far Quinn's favorite present.  I never feared about where Quinn was or what he was doing if I got distracted, because I knew his Aunt Wendy always had an eye on him.  His Godmother and Godfather (Mary and Goodie) also came and provided him with boxes of animal crackers which he proceeded to shovel down covered in a fair amount of sand.  Quinn also ate icing for the first time--and you can see his delight.  He was so good clapping his hands and dancing in the middle of a circle to "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands," courtesy of a cute Elmo book that Prof. Wadine Gherke gave him.  He got sooo dirty and played in and on everything.  He never fussed or cried but rather relished in all the attention.  He didn't even nap until late afternoon when I finally put him in the stroller to head home.  Clearly, even he knew it was a special day.  

No Promises

I continue to promise more updates on this blog, but continue to disappoint.   No more promises.  I will post when I can and try to keep this up-to-date.  As with the pics I just posted under "Family Ties," right now I just want to ensure some of the pics I love most are posted to the blog so they are not lost in cyber land somewhere.  Quinn should see just how tiny he really was, and just how much he was loved from the start.  Below are a few more that I adore. 

Family Ties