Feet Are Neat

Hello!
Yesterday marked Quinn's 4 Month birthday. Man oh man... how time flies and things change when you're busy and having this much fun!  Read on for a post that is mostly a Quinn update.

Since the day he hit the 3 month mark, Quinn has been a different baby. It is like one day he "woke up" and acquired a tremendous amount of energy. It all started one day in early April on the changing table when he got a good solid grip with both hands, one on each foot. He was kicking his feet into his hands with counter pressure and looking up at me really really excited about his new discovery. A few days later, he caught his big toe in his mouth and that was REALLY NEAT too. This kiddo loves sucking fingers as well... his, mine, dad's, probably yours too if you would let him.

I know it is not best practice to compare your children, but sometimes it's hard not to do so. While the "fog" of parenthood may wipe out some of the "hard times" and make us nostalgic about the past, Jason and I both think Olivia slept a lot more than Quinn. It just seems like this boy just does not need a lot of sleep! I think he is very normal and I know he's growing great but I do wish we could get a little more shut-eye around here.

Quinn is really strong, like physically strong. I swear he does little exercises like sit ups, back extensions, curls, and so on. And he has a crazy-strong grip. Sometimes I get to nurse him when he is sleepy and calm (I love those times!) but just as often, I get to nurse a baby boy with ants in his pants. Quinn growls too. Like "grrrr.... grrrr". Not exactly cute but humorous!

Quinn has a touch of a temper. He has his normal "witching hour" which varies day to day but besides that he is a fairly easy baby, except for the 5% of the time when he turns grizzly bear on you. When this has happened while we are out in public, such as out to dinner, we have cleared out of a few places so fast they might as well have been burning down. At times like this, we affectionately refer to him as "Jack Jack" (the baby from The Incredibles which is one of my favorite kids movies).

Other nicknames for Quinn include Barnacle, Sweet Doll, Love Chunk, and (the most commonly used) Bud. Oh yeah, by the way I am a nick-namer. J and I probably didn't need to agree on what to call our children since I assign and use their nicknames almost as much as their real names!

Here's a picture of Q in the new kids recliner that we got. All he needs to do is trade in his binkie for a beer and the remote control and he will be set to enter manhood.

On the Olive front, she is doing great - we all survived a 6 week patch of teething where she was quite a bear, but at least we have 4 more teeth to show for it. Her taste buds are pretty wonky these days, and she's been a fairly picky eater.  She's been digging a lot on black olives and dried cranberries. And pizza (of course).

We had a family photo shoot yesterday which was quite a production to orchestrate (thanks Catherine!). So we will have some new pictures to share soon.

Take care, claire & family