Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Silence isn't always golden

As Quinn becomes more active and a little more mobile, I have quickly learned that while quiet is sometimes music to my ears, it usually means he is up to something he shouldn't be.
As I said in the last post, Quinn has started to make some more sounds and he goes on and on for a long time babbling to himself, and sometimes it gets quite loud. In fact, on a number of occasions while I was watching TV , I have caught myself hitting the mute button while pointing the remote in Quinn's direction. Surprisingly it doesn't work on Quinn, or on the baby monitor as well.
Anyway, I love to hear Quinn's voice, but sometimes I just want to hear quiet. This is where the line "be careful what you wish for" comes into effect.
A few weeks ago, I had purchased Quinn a couple of new toys to play with, since he is getting bored of everything we have for him. I unpacked a couple of them from their boxes and left him with his new treasures while I threw away the packaging.
I was quiet pleased that he was content, and discovering his new friends, so I went to the kitchen to start dinner.
Wow, I thought, he really must be enjoying himself, as not a peep was to be heard from my little guy. I went to check on him, and lo and behold, he wasn't playing with his new toys, but had somehow discovered the small piece of cardboard that I mistakenly left behind and was sucking on it.
So, I took it away and the quietness disappeared. I had ruined his fun.
A few more times since then, I have discovered our quiet Quinny has gotten a hold of something he isn't supposed to, or working his way to something he isn't supposed to, but now I have realized that once all is quiet, all is not well.
Case in point, was this morning.
I had just finished giving Quinn his breakfast and decided to check out the e-mail etc. I put him on his blanket with some toys, and I went about my work on the computer. He was babbling away and having fun, and then all of a sudden he went quiet. I turned around to see what he was up to and to my complete disgust was splashing his hand in a puddle of puke.
I raced around trying to clean him and the floor up before he made even more of a mess.
My instincts were right. He was up to something he shouldn't be, and now I know, that silence, at least when it involves a child, is never good, unless of course they are asleep.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Time flies...

I can't believe it has been a month since my last entry.
Quinn will be 8 months old in a week, and he is changing every day. His face has gotten older, he is starting to move around a little bit and has already had a few head bumps. All of them are my fault, simply because I underestimated his ability. No longer can I just leave him in his car seat or rocky chair without being buckled in. Not even for a second, as he and I discovered the hard way. He can get out of both, and the result was to fall on the hardwood and bump his head. I felt horrible when it happened, and it was a wake-up call that our little Quinny is beoming much stronger and figuring out how his new muscle power works. He isn't crawling yet, but is starting to make the motions. Although, Rob and I were just commenting the other day that we think Quinn might walk before he crawls. With very little help, and sometimes no help, and under the perfect circumstances, he can pull himself to standing. He hasn't quite figured out that he still needs to hang on, which resulted in another bump on the head after I wasn't quick enough to predict his erratic movement and subsequent fall.
I know, it sounds like Quinn is hitting his head all the time, but really it has only been a few times.
Another new development is that for about a month now, Quinn takes his bath in the regular big bath tub and quite enjoys it. Rob and I are quickly realizing that Quinny loves the water. We still go to the pool once every couple of weeks to practice our Starfish moves, and our bathtime is now quite a wet affair as Quinn loves to splash and play with his boats. Rob and I couldn't be more happy about his love for the water, and are looking forward to watching him play at our beach and splash around the lake this summer.
Our food adventures are continuing. Quinn definitely has his likes and dislikes, and has now learned that he can tightly close his lips when he doesn't want any of the yucky stuff, so Rob and I are constantly trying to find new ways to get him to open up.
Quinn has also discovered that he can spit and sputter with his lips and tongue, so it's not uncommon for Rob and I to be wiping our face just as many times in a day as we wipe up Quinn.
We finished our baby sign language classes, and each week Rob and I add a new sign to the repertoire. Quinn hasn't signed back yet, but we are confident he knows what some of the signs mean. When I use the sign for milk, he gets a big smile on his face, and if Quinn is in my lap, immediately buries his head in my chest. He uses his own sign for 'up', which is both arms in the air, which also means that he is finished playing in the ExerSaucer, or on his playmat.
And if Rob were writing this blog entry the first thing he would tell you about Quinn is that he can say "Dada". We aren't sure if it is deliberate or coincidence, but Quinny is definitely saying it. Sometimes he goes on and on saying da, da, da, da, for a while even when Rob isn't in the room, but on a few ocaissions when Rob enters the room, Quinn will start saying his Da, da sounds.
We are excited to see Quinn's new developments, but at the same time realize his first year in our lives is more than halfway through. We love our little boy more and more each day, and quite often Rob and I will say to each other how indescribable our love for him is. That, and the fact that hands down we have the cutest, happiest, smartest baby in the world.
And even though I haven't written any entries in a while, I have had a number of ideas come to mind, so please stay tuned for my advice on investing, learn what my new pasttime is, and I will share with you another special milestone in Quinn's life.