George and Tennis

There's a wonderful symmetry to parenting. Luke and I seem to balance one another when it comes to care, sympathy and patience. If one of us is overly tired or exasperated, the other is there to offer Quinn the attention and love that the other is temporarily unable to give:) Other times, Luke and I revel in being on the exact same page as we enjoy our son to his fullest. Last night was one of those merry nights where Quinn was SUPER energetic at bed-time and couldn't stop chattering about tennis, who would play it, when, where and what-not. His enthusiasm and relentless discussion of tennis was so endearing and fun that Luke and I hid behind our mutual smiles so that Quinn wouldn't think we were laughing at him. The bedroom was filled with the kind of priceless joy that comes from loving something so innocent and marvelously impulsive that you can't stopper it. Bedtime was a little pushed back because of his chatty fun, but it was worth it for some moments of shared mirth.

Quinn LOVES his Curious George movie. He laughs and laughs when George and the man in the yellow hat eat fire flies and their tongues turn green. He cries and moans when they take George away. His emotions are very real and when the two are reunited he is relieved and happy.

This weekend was a heartwarming kind of time. On Saturday morning, Quinn and I went to see Elmo Goes Green at the Target Center. I can still see us walking along the skyway to the TC and Quinn was holding onto the rail, looking out, taking in the snow falling and the parents and kids walking with us. I had told him that there would be lots of Mommy's and Daddy's and little boys and girls so he knew we were near the excitement. Our seats for the show were really good and aisle was pretty bare so I didn't worry about him wandering. Of course, that wasn't a concern I had to wrestle with since he spent the whole first half of the show in my lap. He tried out my seat but didn't like how it raised up in the front. He had a huge smile on his face when Ernie and Bert began the show and his attention never moved from the stage, except when he turned to see me and give me a hug. He held onto my arms, clapped with me and spontaneously gave kisses. Now and again he would plug his ears when things got too loud and I would cup his ears to help. Around the auditorium you could hear parents talking to their kids and taking part in the glee. Quinn got a balloon and some popcorn, though once he had the balloon he wasn't terribly interested in the food. The second half got a little long for him and he stood on his own some, but he never acted up or broke down. On the way to the car he spotted the Mrs. Field's display and I succumbed to his cookie requests, which meant lunch was a tricky situation. After mistakenly heading to the car without paying for parking, we ended up at the Chipotle-esque place for a quick quesadilla that Quinn barely touched. Then, we were on our way home for a well-deserved nap. That evening, we headed out as a family and purchased new shoes for Dad and Quinn and were joined by Matt because I had left my wallet at home. Quinn's new shoes light up and they made him VERY happy. As he starts to make more and more choices about his apparel, I wonder what I will do. We got pizza and wings from Old Chicago, a staple for Luke and I from our Huron days, and then headed home for a good meal, quick play time and bed. Early Sunday we were up again as a family and headed to the Children's Museum where we had a grand time. We painted, played with balls and bubbles, climbed around, worked the conveyor belt and more. Quinn was thoughtful and observant, but not overwhelmed, until the parking ramp took too long to exit. Uggh. Once home, we were off for a nap and then in the evening we were out and about to Target for a few items, which turned into a ton of items and then to the mall for a gift for Dad. I had forgotten that I told Luke that we would buy him an Itouch if he went to both the doctor and dentist. Since he has complied, we rewarded him. Unfortunately, our computer is so old that is won't upload anything on to it, but he'll be able to play with it at work and get it running. Quinn is the proud and happy new owner of a Handy Manny figure and truck. He is VERY happy with his new toys and Luke and I wrote off the spending as a gift for MLK Jr. Day:)

This morning, Quinn and I had a perfect time of things. Quinn slept until nearly 9:45 and even then he just wanted to snuggle and hang out. The other morning when I told him I had to get showered and dressed and then we had to go to Jo-Jo's, he told me to "slow down". And then, to "lay down" and patted the pillow. He showered me with kisses and wanted to "spoon" though he describes it as him turning around and then me too. I feel astonishingly lucky. Heck, even at the elmo event he just settled back into me and was content to experience this bright, vocal entertainment, cuddled in my arms. What a sweet, wonderful boy I have!

Socks

My son sleeps in socks now. I cannot sleep in socks. It makes me feet feel like they're imprisoned. If you try to take his socks off- even while he's sleeping- he'll tell you in a sleepy, hazy voice,"socks on". That's commitment. He's taken to collecting socks and carrying them around. He can't always decide what he wants to do with the socks- layer them, hoard them, have me wear them or throw them around. Last night, he wanted me to show him my feet so he could check to see if I was wearing socks. A mother's love only goes so far:) Yesterday we spent a nice day together as a family. We had lunch at French Meadow Cafe and then went to visit Trent in the hospital. Grandma Edberg, Loren and Peg showed up so we had a fun visit with them too. Today, it's our duty to get him back on a schedule. Quinn's been going to sleep later, napping later and eating whenever; with Monday just around the corner, we need to get him back into a routine. Tomorrow is the last day of first semester Boy's Class and our turn to bring treats. I have a packet about tantrums to read and I'm excited that Luke has already read it. Yesterday I decided I was "in charge" of my son and we were going to get dressed, even though he wanted to stay in his train shirt. But, I insisted and even through the crying and moving away, I stubbornly continued to dress him. It made me feel poopy, but a combination of things were running through my mind. One, I was feeing emotional and sad because the family dog was put to sleep yesterday. Two, I had just read an editorial about kids using crack or cocaine. The logic in my head said that if I let Quinn dictate too much in life then he'll end up using drugs. I don't want to parent out of fear, but with love. After a moments breather for us both and hugs Quinn and I took his train shirt and washed it in the sink. Then, we hung it up to dry and I explained that when his shirt was dry he could wear it again. After his nap he went off in search for his train shirt and we put it back on him:)

Wallace and Gromit

When I met Luke and we had our first "date" in his room, watching movies and playing Monopoly, the three Wallace and Gromit short films were a part of his collection. When I taught reading to 9th and 10th graders at AVHS, I used them to teach parts of a story. Luke and I went to see the feature length Wallace and Gromit in the theater, though I remember being really tired and actually laying down on the stadium seats. Nowadays, Wallace and Gromit is beloved by Quinn. We started him with the VHS videos, though we found them a pain in the butt with the rewinding and such, but Quinn loved them. Then, I picked up the movie at Blockbuster one night and he was an instant fan. For Christmas, Chris and Sheryl gave him his own copy and now it's a staple of our collection. At present, Quinn is sitting in the floor watching with a half smile planted on his face. He's completely entranced, though not so much so that he can't hold his foot or say a line before it happens.:) He's excellent at predicting and also narrating what is happening. Smart fellow!

Quinn details

My son is really passionate about what he wears lately. This morning, taking off one of the socks he slept in caused a meltdown. He also managed to eat the wrapper on his chocolate Hershey treat when I wasn't looking. Whoops. Yesterday, he and I had a really nice post-school time. We laid on the couch for our afternoon nurse and then we read a bunch of the Mr. Happy, Ms. Naughty, etc. books. I nearly fell asleep I was so relaxed. Then, after an ice cream treat, we watched some Wallace before he went to boy's class. When Quinn got home from class, we had some nice table time with George, Elmo and Ox. He is so fantastic at pretending lately. He serves his little animal friends coffee and soup and doesn't mind that there's only water in his cup. He walks to different sections of the room and pretends that he is using the faucet to wash his hands or get water for his cooking. How interesting that while he's evolving as an imaginative thinker, he is also showing some very specific needs and wants when it comes to clothes and decisions. I suppose it's the ying and yang to development. At one point last night, Luke was downstairs because he was too congested to sleep and I had rolled Quinn away from me. He was in a deep sleep and when I returned from checking on Luke, he was laying in the bed parallel to the pillows. He is one tall little boy. Funny kid. Lately, he's taken to stuffing things in his mouth when eating. He rarely slows down to chew and then ends up spitting out, or rather tipping his head forward to empty his mouth's contents. Funny Quinn.

Running

My son loves to run. Today, I've run laps and laps around the downstairs rooms and all around the upstairs- sometimes just in the bedroom and other times configuring an 8 moving from bedroom to play room. Quinn has a new table and chair set in his play room. We have Curious George and Ox (the ugly doll) seated at the table. With his new IKEA dishware, Quinn serves them food and drink. Mostly, he loves to use the ladle to serve soup and the pot also serves as a cup for coffee. Who knows where it all began, but my son love the notion of coffee. Twice during break he's had the treat of coffee, aka hot chocolate. I didn't realize it, but both Caribou and Starbucks serve their hot chocolate at a kid friendly temperature. Cool beans.

For the past week or so, my son has developed a keen fashion sense, or at the very least, a passionate opinion about what he is going to wear. Sometimes, those desires are very fashion forward. For instance, on Christmas Eve he refused to wear the nice sweater and dress shirt I had picked out. Instead, he opted to keep his pajamas on, but allowed us to place a sweater over-top his blue monkey shirt and his jeans underneath his matching blue bottoms. This week, we're very devoted to a blue baseball shirt. It doesn't seem to matter how long we've worn it or that there are two red baseball shirts that are perfectly clean. Fortunately, the blue Saints t-shirt is a temporary stop-gap for the blue baseball sheet. Quinn is currently wiping down his father's boots. Luke mentioned that he couldn't wear them because they were dirty. So, Quinn is correcting that situation.

In so many precious and spontaneous moments, Quinn is brilliant and funny. As I was holding the Christmas tree today at an awkward angle while Luke loosened it from the base and wrapped it in a plastic garbage bag, Quinn brought my slippers to me and helped me into them. He has learned to shush us when he is hiding, instead of waiting for us to quiet him. Sometimes he says, "No, no, no" with a passionate intensity and the next minute he'll cover his face and hide right in front of us. Last night at Barnes and Noble he selected with enthusiasm a Look and Find Pixar book and he was not to be swayed to read anything I selected (and purchased).

Today he took the bit off of his new drill from Chris and Sheryl and pretended to shave his face with it. If I chase him and occasionally brush my hand against his hair, he laughs and giggles. He has emptied our sparse family jewelry box and taken possession of Mom and Dad's class rings. He is a joy and a wonder every day, in evey minute.