My little stinker

Yes, this is what Quinn was for Halloween. I made his costume too. I was nervous that people wouldn't be able to tell what he was supposed to be. It worked out perfect! Everywhere he went people would make comments like, "Be careful, you're going to get sprayed."

We had to bribe him with candy to get his picture.  He'd pose for others but not for us.  So, better pictures are soon to come!

We had our trunk or treat ward party on Friday the 28th. There they had the kids line up and parade around the gym. This way everyone could see all the costumes. He started walking with the kids so I let him go off by himself. Then he realized people were cheering and taking pictures. He stopped dead in his tracks and started to pose. Then, his spectators really started to laugh. Quinn loved his costume. It brought him a lot of attention. Others mentioned that he wore the costume perfectly.

When Quinn would walk his tail would move with his body.  So cute!

One time, Mike had to lift Quinn's tail to check his diaper.  He smelled and mentioned how stinky he was.  Well, that's what you get for getting close to a skunk.

Havin' a good time

Quinn loves to listen to music on my phone. He especially loves wearing this head set. It gives him something more to play with. He'll plug the head set in and then take it out. He gets frustrated when he can't plug it back in. As you can see from the video, he loves to jam to the music. He knows how to get into my music library and to change songs.

This is what Quinn does when I'm getting ready for the day.  It's a whole lot easier that trying to hold him or entertain him.  He gets into a lot of trouble if he's not doing this.  Just look at that sexy body.

The Pumpkin Patch

After getting the garage door opener installed, we went to the pumpkin patch. I was excited to go to see what it was all about since I've never been before. I've heard all about it and was more curious than anything. Well, it was cool but not as cool as I had expected.  It was more like scattered pumpkins on some barren land.  The pumpkins were kind of expensive.  We got some good pictures and spent some good, quality time together.  (Isn't it about time?)  Oh, and getting ice cream after was great!

Quinn thought the train was super cool.  He didn't want to get off.

Quinn thought pushing the cart was super fun.  He'd be content just doing that for the rest of the night.

Quinn at the corn maze.  He didn't really like it.  He got frustrated that he couldn't tell where he was going.

Livin' the HiGh LiFe

Mike and I have been in our house since April of 2008.  That first Christmas in the house, Mike's parents and he, went together to buy me a garage door opener.  I was so excited.  Our garage door is so heavy and is a pain to open.  This is especially true in winter.  I've parked in the garage for convenience and to spare my body from less exposure to the blistering winter weather.  That's is super hard to do when I have to get out and close the door before pulling out of my driveway.  Anyways, obviously this is something I'd love to have.  Mike knew it so he got it for me.

Then he did something unexpected.  He took it back to the store.  Yes, this is true.  Now, why would he get me a present and just take it back to the store?  He assumed that we would sell the house the next year and didn't want to put any more money into it than necessary. 

Well, we are in the 2011 and we still are here.  Big surprise, right? (Not really!) So, I told Mike that this winter is the winter I get a garage door opener because I don't want to hassle with it.  I'd prefer to park in the garage with Quinn.

Mike made a bargain with me.  If I helped him today at the "house" (Gene is building a house for his parents and Mike helps him on his day off with it), he would install it for me afterward.  I took him up on it. 

I was so giddy to use it.  Mike made fun of me.  He says I was like a teenager just getting my drivers license.  You have to realize that we never had one of these growing up.  My parents didn't park in the garage.  They used it for storage. 

I got to try it out today. I parked in the garage...and didn't have to get out of my car to close it. It was so convenient. It was splendid. It was all that I had hoped for and more.

This is the coolest thing ever invented (as of right now).  I love it.

Freight Train Terrors

A few days ago Mike and I were talking how we could handle Quinn being at this stage forever.  He has become so fun and responsive.  I love all the new things he's learning.  I love seeing his personality develop and change.  Now things have changed.

He's still Quinn and still all of the above.  I think his personality came with a little bit more than we bargained for.  He definitely has a mind of his own.  The problem is that he can't communicate with us how most people do so he finds his own way to do it.  He gets so angry and completely loses his temper.  He sure has me exhausted at the end of the day.  I find myself needing time away from the little dude.  He becomes so intense.  I frankly don't know what to do.

So, what is it that he does exactly?  When something seems to rub him the wrong way (which has been every few seconds lately) he's been throwing tantrums.  It could include him screaming, throwing things, crying, biting, stomping his legs, gritting his teeth, squeezing an object to death, hitting, etc.  I wonder what happened to my sweet little boy?

I had just read a blog where she blogged about this exact topic.  I have to say I totally agree with her.  When I read her blog, I didn't think Quinn was close to this stage.  I, too, thought I saw it coming.  It hit us like a ton of bricks. It came out of nowhere and came like a freight train.  The terrible two's start about 18 months.  When I talk to other moms about Quinn and the stage he's in, they all nod like they know exactly what I'm going through.  It's funny because I had no idea and had to find out on my own.  It boggles my mind, with all the kids I've been around, that I didn't learn of this secret long before.  At least I know I'm not the only one.

So, any suggestions on how to stop this kind of behavior?   I don't know what to try or what would work.  The things that come straight to my mind don't seem like they would work.  I don't know if he would understand it or not.  I know he understands more than I realize so maybe I should try them anyways. 

On a different note...

Quinn refers to anything that has four legs as "kitty".  He has a stuffed animal cat with pink nipples and since he received that as a Christmas gift he has loved "kitties". We were on a walk today and he had to stop and say hi to the feline.  Since he loves them so much I let him.  They're not my favorite especially since they make me sneeze like mad.  I had to get a picture with him and this cat.  This cat was nice and super patient with him.  Since he was on a hill, Quinn fell on top of him and the cat didn't even care.  For that reason, the cat earned some points with me.

Look at this beaut. Yup, that's right!  We got a new table.

It's counter height.   I love it but I don't think it's very practical with small kids around.  The chairs are quite high.  I'm afraid that one of them will fall and really hurt themselves.  So, with raising a family we're going to make it lower.  It will look exactly the same; just a different height.   I think Quinn will miss his little hide-out.  Oh, well!  

I think it makes our house look nicer.  It's not that big of a table but for how small our house is; it look huge.  I couldn't believe the size of it.  I saw it before but inside of Blackers it doesn't even compare.  I like the fact that we can have people over for dinner and have room for food on the table.  We usually have to bring our little mobile island over (which Mike just re-finished to look like our cabinets.  It looks like it belongs in our house.  He did a good job).  It does have leaves too!                           

Another nice thing about having lower chairs is that it will be easier to add chairs for when more than expected is over.  Right now, we would have to order more chairs and store them until someone is over to use them.  We don't have room for them in our kitchen.   

Well that's it for now...                                                                             

Play Dough

Quinn had his first experience with play dough.  I made the kind that called for kool-aid.  Did you know you could make it this way? I didn't...but it's so cool.  It smells way good since I used the cherry flavored packets.  It made Quinn want to eat it even more than normal (he always wants to eat everything anyways.)

While I was making it, I let Quinn cook (see background mess in the picture.)  I gave him some uncooked noodles, rice, crackers, and gold fish to measure and stir in his bowl.  He thought that he needed every utensil in the kitchen. 

Anyways, he was excited to play with something different and loved this new experience.  Let's hope it helps entertain us as the weather changes.

Feeding Duckies

I went on a walk with Amelia and Caryn a while back.  Quinn was very interested in the ducks and geese.  He kept chasing after them.  I was surprised that he wasn't afraid of them.  They didn't bother him in the least.  I had to take Mike to see his little boy in action.

Quinn still loved seeing the ducks but this time was a little bit more shy.  I'm not sure why.  We didn't bring any bread but luckily we had gold fish crackers in the diaper bag.  Those ducks must have been starving.  They ate right out of our hands.  Quinn didn't like being nipped.  He enjoyed throwing them on the ground.  After some time, he got brave enough and did chase after them.  He did not want to leave.  Mike and I both got too cold.

This is something we're going to try to do a lot of next summer.

My little helper boy

For about a month now I've been giving Quinn "chores" to do.  This hasn't been hard since he's so eager to help anyways.  Instead of finding his own ways to help, like putting things in the toilet or taking everything out of the dishwasher when I had just loaded it, I'd rather give him things to keep him busy.  So far he's helped me with a number of things.  He has started taking his own diaper to the trash and he puts the trash cans back where they belong after I've changed them.  He's tried vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, cooking, and dusting.  He becomes so proud of himself for helping.  I think it's cute how hard he tries.  Let's hope that this eagerness continues through his teenage years through adulthood.

1st snow fall

Quinn didn't know what to think of the snow.  He was a good sport since he kept getting frustrated about not being able to use his hands.  He kept falling over with all of the clothes I made him wear.  Regardless, I think he enjoyed being outside.  It sure beat being cooped up inside all day.  He seemed to be getting a little stir crazy...already!  This is just the start of the nasty winter weather.