Now
that I can form complete sentences, I will be taking over the blog
posts more frequently. This is Quinn, by the way. Just a few weeks ago, I
first began combining words into three word sentences - "JJ big dog,"
"dadda big shoes," "more small towels," "there you are, booboo," "I see
that," etc. Now I am using four words to combine into sentences, which
my parents are so surprised and excited about. I think I may become a
medical professional someday, because I have a fascination with
identifying (and sometimes creating) booboos and then healing them with
my pretend medicine and kisses. Booboos are important to continue
healing even once their physical manifestations disappear; I am skilled
at remembering their location and continuing to kiss them long after my
parents tell me that they are gone. In fact, I still routinely heal the
spot where mom had a booboo almost a month ago. One must be thorough,
you know.
I love to color and write names. I prefer to use
my left hand, like my Meme, but I can use both. I can identify the
letters d, m, and q, and the numbers 2, 3, and 0. I also know and try to
say the colors blue, red, green, and purple.
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| My cousin, Eli |
I
have also discovered that I am quite a good, let's see, what is a
positive word for tattle-tale? Um, safety monitor? You see, my aunt
Kaylen, uncle Jeff, and cousins came to visit last week. My cousin Eli
is two months younger than I am, which means that I need to look out for
him. The adults were getting us all ready to go to the pool, which we
did each morning. Since no one was paying attention, I had to notify
them of a situation by saying, "Um! Baby, baby!" (Um means uh-oh or
impending disaster.) Mom knew my code and quickly looked round to see
what the problem was. Eli was eating the sunscreen. Good thing I told
her! How many times have I told her to keep the sunscreen out of the
reach of small children?
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| Mommy and Eli having fun at lunchtime |
Other
than having to share my toys with another small person, I thoroughly
enjoyed their visit. I especially enjoyed playing with my cousin, Alex.
Even though she is almost 9, she is great at entertaining babies. We
read lots of books together and had many fascinating discussions. We
went to the mall and watched her ride the carousel (those carousel
animals are a bit too creepy for me to engage with them face-to-face).
We played at the park, ate ice cream and cake when we celebrated her birthday, played
outside with the hose, and generally had a great time. I also enjoyed
congratulating Eli ("Yay, baby!") when he learned to use a fork at our
table.
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| Mommy and my big cousin, Alex |
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| Ready to go to the pool |
A week before our family came to visit, we went
to Minneapolis for one of Daddy's conferences. I don't know what a
conference is - all I know is that they always involve airplanes and
strange (though usually nice) sleeping rooms. Mom and I went to the Como
Zoo one morning where I saw giraffes, lions, tigers, penguins, zebras,
and more of my favorite animals. I liked the giraffes the best because
there was a baby and mom giraffe. I got my first big splinters at the
zoo. I was quite brave when mom pulled out the first one, but that hurt,
so the second and third were pulled out by the splinter fairy while I
napped. Though it was fun to see the animals, I must admit that there
are far too many small people at places like zoos. Some small people are
okay in small doses and quantities, but I find that most are too loud
and don't understand the concept of personal space. They kept yelling
and touching me. Very overwhelming. In fact, because I can't yet say
"I'm overwhelmed," I had to resort to throwing myself on the ground near
the lion exhibit, crying hysterically until my mother figured out that I
needed a quiet place away from said small people. Then I was fine. Just
give me some quiet and some space, and I am a happy camper. Though to
be fair to small people, many adults also seem to underestimate how much
personal space is appropriate. They frequently feel compelled to touch
me despite my best evil eye glares and attempts to squirm my way into my
mother's body to avoid their touch.
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| Three generations of Ciscos |
This past weekend we went to visit family, and I celebrated my second
Independence Day. Though I'm too young to stay up for fireworks, I love
this holiday for the food. I got to try an ice cream sandwich and swim
in the pool. Throwing balls for JJ to fetch in the pool was lots of fun.
I spent time with my Oma and Grandad and got to see my Aunt Lydia. It
takes me a while to warm up to anyone outside my nuclear family, but I'm
getting better at it. I suppose I am a reserved fellow in general,
though I'm quick to smile at people from a distance. It's that personal
space thing again.
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| Talking about stuff with my Grandad |
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| Riding my big boy bike |
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| A tribute to my Great-Grandad, who served in WWII to protect my freedom |
One
thing that my mother is excited about that I am decidedly against is
night weaning. After we got back from Minneapolis, my mother started
telling me that the milk sleeps at night and refused to share my
favorite all-night snack. I was not at all happy about this, but I
surprised her by only throwing tantrums once or twice a night for the
first week. Now I pretty much go without milk from bedtime to 4:50am
(when I awake every single morning). Mom says "Hurray!" I say "boo." On
the plus side, I am finally sleeping for longer than two hours at a
time, which makes me feel better during the day.
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| Celebrating my Auntie's 20th birthday |
Finally,
we are celebrating because Daddy finished his last class for his PhD
last week. No more classes, no more grades! Yay Daddy!
