Christmas and a New Year

Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year!

Is it morning?

We had a lovely Christmas this year. We baked gingerbread on Christmas Eve and opened a present. It was a blast to have the tree up, because Quinn woke up every morning, pointed at the tree saying "dat", wanting us to turn the lights on. Santa came to fill our stockings and leave a few presents under the tree for the squirt. Quinn adores the Christmas tree, so he was excited Christmas morning regardless of the presents underneath. He got his favorite snacks in his stocking (banana stars, a toddler snack food), as well as a Sesame Street color book and crayons (which he tried to eat). Santa brought him a wooden train stacking toy. We gave him a wooden puzzle, and he got all sorts of treats from loving family and friends. Books, a Little People tractor, a MegaBlocks racing set, an electronic guitar, a desk...more than any little dude could hope for. He adores it all and we cleaned out his toy box to share the wealth with less fortunate little ones. We had a great time visiting with family and look forward to a final Christmas gathering at the end of this month.

New Year's Eve was quiet. We didn't even stay up until midnight, but we did share a beer and enjoyed the day off together.

It amazes me that Quinn is 15 months old now. I am so grateful to have been able to be home with him - though I miss adult company sometimes, I enjoy being with him so much. He is the funniest little guy!

He is truly a toddler and gaining a desire for independence. He is excited about using the potty because he can sit on it by himself now. He has few accidents and runs over to the potty tapping it when he needs to go. I find it strange that our medical and developmental culture has concluded that children are not developmentally able to use a potty (or be aware of their elimination needs) until at least two years old. I suppose that's our ethnocentrism talking because we only need to look to some of our less industrialized neighbors to see that it isn't the case. Anyway, I digress. Last night Quinn sat his Pooh doll on the potty and made grunting noises as if he was going number two. So funny!
 
He is starting to use utensils at the table and gets so proud of himself. He can make more than a dozen animal sounds and identifies tons of animals and objects in books. One of his funniest sounds is the Count from Sesame Street ("ah-ah-ah!"). It's cute to watch him point to his hair, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, belly, leg, knee, and, my favorite, his belly button. His memory is improving because he can remember where certain pictures are (Santa, a cow) underneath flaps in flap books.

Quinn loves to play hide and seek. His favorite things to do are zoom his bike around the house, pour water on the floor and "clean" it with a towel, vacuum, and read books. He is also into taking lids on and off and recently started imaginary play. He makes his toy animals ride in vehicles and eat. It's hilarious to see him feed Cheerios to Grover or Pooh.

Passed out in the Ergo after a walk outside. The only way I could get him to sleep that day.

I guess I should mention what the grown-ups are up to, though it's not near as amusing. Jonathan was sick over the break but is doing much better. He starts classes in a little over a week. He's teaching the Humanities sequence in the Honors College again this semester. He's also been accepted to present at two conferences this spring, so we could be traveling with him again. (I know, you must think we are crazy after reading how our Dallas trip went.) Jonathan only has two classes left to finish his coursework and then will be on to comps in the Fall. I hope to get a draft or two of my dissertation out by the end of this semester, and I'm working on some publications and conference presentations with my boss as part of my research assistantship. We've had some crazy weather - Arctic temps (-25 degrees with 35mph winds) and snow. I'm already dreaming of spring when I can take the squirt outside to play and get back in the garden.

Ready to play in the snow!