Quinn and his Dad are painting together. Quinn is wearing one of Luke's old shirts, backwards and looks more adorable than words can say. Last night, Quinn determined that he was going to wear Dad's pajamas to bed. Wearing an old green t-shirt and blue gym shorts, Quinn was a vision in over-sized funniness. We laughed about how things were too "small" and eventually, he was ready to don his own spaceship pajamas.

Megan and Leo visited me at the book fair recently and they picked up the book "Nurture Shock" which apparently makes a case for how too much positive validation from parents can be detrimental for kids. I suppose there's something to that argument, but I certainly find it personally difficult to do anything but celebrate how terrific I think my son is. It's worth a read though, or learning more, because I want Quinn to be centered and have a positive self-esteem, but not shy away from challenge:)

It is very hard for me, however, to not turn around and celebrate his delightful painting. He is such a cutey.

One more day to the term and then staff development. Had a really encouraging meeting with my long-term sub this morning and I think she's going to be really excellent in my stead.

Quinn and I watched cars today as they were passing by the house and worked on our colors. Our driving routine is pretty mellow. Luke and I may talk some and catch up and we check in about Quinn's day, but then we let him chill for a bit on the short ride home. On one hand, it's relaxing and low pressure... on the other hand, i have to fight the instinct to make every second with Quinn "count" in some academic or learning fashion. As a baby, even though our commute to Jo-jo's was incredibly short, I always made sure to sing the whole way or talk the whole way. I am odd.

Quinn says he is now going to paint a picture for me. He is singing the word "Blue, blue, blue, blue..."

Quinn likes to sing all sorts of random lines of conversation, which reminds me of my own lyrical gifts...

I have the Superwhy song in my head.

Have I mentioned that in our co-sleeping world, Quinn loves to snuggle as close to my back as possible and is almost always in the center of the bed, but not on one side-- unless it's my side:)

I like watching how kids are ambidextrous and try out painting and coloring with both hands.

Tomorrow is Thursday. Quinn has speech:) I love his voice and listening to its every inflection. I wish I could record it all. When I bring out the camera, however, he clams up and is focused on being recorded as opposed to being his charming former, chatty self.

Roger remains Quinn's top pick for his sister's name. He also seems to have two imaginary friends named Kenny and Roger, though Luke and I are not sure if we mishearing his pronunciation, if they actually exist...

"Oops, sorry."

I'm hearing this from the other room because Quinn has just accidentally killed his father's lego player. At times, this happens when Quinn and I are playing together. He is sweet and funny as he tries to apologize for ending our lego existence. Quinn likes to begin his entreaties about playing the game in that he can, "do it all himself" but then he inevitably needs help from Luke or I to get to the world he wants:) Of course, to be fair, he knows how to use the myriad of buttons on the two remotes and can do far more than I can in all of the world.

"I'm ok"

My son is hilarious and I love the sound of my voice, always. When he is not near Luke or I, say, downstairs while we are upstairs, and he tumbles or falls, he will always call out, "I'm ok" to let us know that all is well. There is something so innocent and sweet about his acknowledgement that he is going to be alright and that he knows we will quickly ask him how he is doing. He knows we care and that we want to see him be safe.

Today he and I were having our "pic-i-nick" on the front stoops while he ate his pizza from the shopping store and then we did some walking up and down the block. He wanted for the two of us to walk backwards together so we did. Then, he must have done something with his stride and he hurt his butt. Then, he twice asked me to touch his butt to confirm that it was hurt. Very funny stuff.

Quinn is all about the woodpecker that hits up the tree outside our window. He finds it incredibly entertaining the sound it makes and we listen with eager eyes and ears for the sound of the woodpecker. Quinn's imitation of the woodpecker to his Dad was also very entertaining. I impersonate the woodpecker by taking my hand and patting it quickly against my nose. Quinn does a full-on head bob act back and forth. Marvelous.

"It's scary."

This expression has crept into Quinn's vocabulary in the past few months and can seemingly fit any occasion. When we switched the rooms this last week, he was rather legitimately scared by the new shadows and shapes in the dark. Other times, like this morning, his room is scary when I ask him to go into it and pick up his books before he watches Star Wars. Our son can be wonderfully independent and at other times, fear spaces that are too big, open or empty without an adult present.

"Mommy said" or "Daddy said"

I don't think that little ones could apply the term white lie to what they do, but they do have the capability to misrepresent things-- and if the results work for them, I think they pull that trick out again. Quinn will often want to make a case for himself or something he wants to his Dad or I. At these moments, he will sometimes explain that "Mommy said I could" or that Daddy also acquiesced, even if such conversations never took place. Luke and I are smart enough to corroborate any such testimony, but it is an interesting habit. I suppose he hears how people make cases for things or try to get their way and that's what he thinks he is to do. We don't ever use the word "lie" when we talk with them, we just gently check sources and correct when we need to. Funny kid.

Elbows and ears. Quinn has always been a marvelously affectionate little boy, a very good snuggler and cuddler. At present, he loves to kiss his father's ears and leave wet traces there and for me, it's my elbows. He loves to pinch and pull at the lose skin there. He gives many, many kisses and loves to be held. In the past week I've managed to steer clear of all piggy backs, but for a while there, his morning descent to the first floor was generally a piggy back from one of his loyal parents. The same can be said for his entrance into school. Now that the weather is nice, he likes to run in, but the piggy backs were pretty popular for a bit. Best get ready for school!

Things are coming down to the wire and there's much to do and much exhaustion. Today we had our 5th ultrasound and baby is doing well. They only measure weight every third week so we didn't get any reading on that, but she scored 8/8 on all the things they measure. The NST was a lengthy one because she and I were sleepy and they wanted to see her move, but I took a bit of a nap during it so that couldn't have sparked much action. Two more days of the quarter and I am very ready for all to conclude, though I am grateful for the slow down that occurs at the end of the term, even if it also means ramping up for the new one. I've still got stuff to do for my long term sub, as well as things to try and accomplish for the science class. We'll see what is possible and what is not.

Quinn is back to school this week after his spring break and making the adjustment alright. He's a bit worn down, I think, as a couple break downs last evening point to. He went to bed fairly early though so hopefully tomorrow morning will be a chipper one. He had his favorite mashed potatoes last night so that was sweet:) He's all about any kind of fruit snack lately, which is fun and remains a devoted fan of his bars. He likes his new round of spring shirts, none of which are Star Wars, so we haven't had to flip shirts in or out for school. He has a new green shirt that he is very fond of and Luke found an old Millenium Falcon pin that he wears with it. We have cheap dragon figures floating through the house because of the new Dreamworks picture. Hopefully they will find their way into the garbage pretty soon.

Life is pretty steady with the family as we head into life with 4. We go to school together, Luke picks us up, we sit on the blue bench (out of chronological order, by the way) and get Quinn in his school shoes as opposed to his outdoor shoes and then Luke and I make a typical stop at Caribou for my drop off. Life with the Honda accord is going swimmingly and we love driving about in a whole car. The two beater cars that were occupying our drive way are gone and that is a mighty relief. We got another key for the Honda this past weekend, so for better or worse, we probably won't have to do anything for the Honda until an oil change. It's nice to have that security and reliability with the car.

I love listening to Quinn chat to himself. He had a new Star Ward pop up book and he is very funny about reading it to himself. THis evening he was watching a little Star Wars on Luke's phone and then was humming/singing to the theme song while I was in the kitchen cooking and Luke was cleaning his monitor. I popped in to watch him and he became a little shy, the sweet boy. He is a pretty regular hummer or singer and when you ask him what he's doing he says, "just talking". Funny kid. I took Quinn to speech last week for the first time. Luke is normally the point person for that; his therapist is a chipper and happy woman and Quinn seems very comfortable working with her.

Now that the rooms are switched up, we've fallen back into our routine of who sleeps where. Though it looked like Quinn was going to spend some more quality time in his crib, as a few lengthy naps indicated, he is clear about sleeping in the big bed with Mommy. Right before a baby arrives hardly seems the time to kick him out and lose that quality time, so we will adjust and hope that #2 likes the crib:)

Alright, I should try and get some sleep and the red light is showing on the battery icon above so that's a clear sign too. Loving my family so very much- as always- and beginning to have those slightly anxious pangs about labor and the upcoming pain. Oh well. It all ends in a fabulous new child:)

My boys are busy playing Star Wars Legos rights now. We spent the day in Albany with the Beck's for Palm Sunday/Easter celebrations. Levi and Bobbi made it up so everyone was able to see the new baby:) Quinn and Luke are pretty darn adorable as they play together. Quinn is wearing his new spiderman t-shirt and shorts from Marcia and Steve. The t-shirt is sleeveless and yellow and he's wearing it over his grey Darth Vader shirt. He's got on his new black shorts and has kept on his brown socks that went with his Easter outfit. He is perched on his red rocking chair from Grandma Edberg and has the Wii remotes clutched in his hands. He is making lots of narrative sort of comments, as is his father. They are both chuckling throughout their game play. I believe that my son is far more talented with a Wii remote than he probably should be, but I impressed nonetheless and predict many more hours of father/son video game playing over the years. "Roger" is stretching and moving in my belly and I am glad that after a long weekend, she is still up to moving about. Quinn and the family just finished a late dinner of pizza and Quinn was quick to tell me that if he finished his pizza, Dad said that he could have "chocolate" but the way he said chocolate was in a hushed whisper, adding intrigue to his treat. Sweet, sweet boy.

One of Quinn's new things is that he likes to pretend to steal our ears and then we pretend that we can't hear him and all he says. He laughs uproariously about the whole thing and it's all wonderfully happy. He is doing very well at his new session of swimming lessons and is good about holding on to the wall of the pool and kicking his little legs. We stopped at the Gap outletin Albertville today on our way back from Albany and picked up some new summer duds for the little man. He is going to be wearing 5t and clothes- wild! I can hardly believe that I have a near 4 year old and will soon be adding an infant to the mix! had the St. Kate's book fair yesterday at Barnes and Noble and visited with some nice parents. Karissa Baker, a former co-worker from SPA, has her son at St. Kate's and its fun to visit with her. McCall's Mom was also there with Quinn's pal and we are glad to here that they are returning next year.

Both Luke and I are proud of the fact that by and large, Quinn is a polite and friendly boy. When exhausted, he can be curt and not want to be forced into things, but in large part, he's a respectful kid. I am glad that we are doing our best to model manners to him. Roger continues to be the most popular name for his little sister to be. Luke and I continue to marinate over the other names we like and are trying to balance out the root of the name and the family associations as close to equal as possible. Who knows where we'll land on a name??

Spring break is finally here and I have tons to do this week. I need to finish the science work from last summer, I need to get lessons ready for the long term sub and it also looks like I need to ready a resume and cover letter for a potential new position at open school. that, and I should take it easy and try my best not to have a baby:)

Quinn continues to be a happy co-sleeper and snuggles as close to me as possible, then stretching his legs across the rest of the bed so I can't switch sides and make any gains in space. Funny kid. We were able to get him off a wierd week of Spongebob and Nick tv and move him to pbs. He had worn tired of the disney line up and likes the arthur, george mix. I saw the trailer for toy story 3 today and that is going to be quite good:)

Just finished a mystery that was reviewed in people magazine and now I'm going to dive into diana gabaldon. The boys are laughing and shouting. Luke sometimes reprimands Quinn's moves and I think Quinn likes teasing him with their progress by jumping into water, off ledges, etc. My son loves being a storm trooper and often asks if I want to come and play with him and be a jedi and he'll be a storm trooper. Funny kid. I do love them both so very, very much.

The anxiety or worry is seeping in. I look around at the amazing life I have and I worry about the safety of everyone. Today we meet with the life insurance guy. We need to update our plans now that we'll be adding a second child to our merry mix. With that, the burning need also persists for Luke and I to sit down and make a will. UGgh. I don't want anyone else to raise my children, I want to do it with Luke and I don't want anything to jeopardize that. So, when I sometimes turn over- rather awkwardly- in the bed and listen to Quinn breathe, I think to myself, "This is the most perfect life I could lead. Please God don't let anything change the health and wellness of those I love most".

Today we're off to the perinatal ultrasound folks to check in on the little one and her growth. From the looks of my much expanded belly, the two cord vessel has done little to slow down her progress. She's a mover too. She's pretty regularly active:) Quinn spent some time last night kissing the belly and was highly entertained the other evening when she was pushing her foot out and making my belly have a funny bump to it. He laughed hysterically at that. Listening to Quinn laugh is one of the best sounds I can imagine. He and his Dad will wrestle a half dozen times a week and the hysteria to his enjoyment is so sweet. Sometimes in his dreams he laughs good naturedly. Love it!

This past Saturday was McCall's birthday party and it was a delight to watch Quinn and his beloved friends. They ran and ran and ran and jumped and explored and had a great time. Of course, the two of them were nearly inseparable and where one went the other followed. When one didn't want to eat pizza, neither did the other. There were odd displays of arms crossed and No's being flung around to no one in particular. I guess we don't have to look very far for Quinn's inspiration at sassiness. To his credit though, he already is learning the art of code shifting and in most cases knows that when with us he is one version of himself and with his friends, he can be another person. By no means do I think either of them misbehave in school, but some of his assertiveness has roots in McCall's modeling:)

Before the party we went to Creative Kids Stuff to pick out McCall's gift. Of course my son found a box of Star Wars equipment under a discount table and began to carry it around. For someone who can't read, he sure recognizes the Star Wars logo. He enjoys watching letters and numbers form together and his new thing is to ask what something says. He likes to type on the computer as well, just like Mom and Dad. He's been watching Super Why on his Dad's phone lately and singing along to that. Speaking of, I bought my first toddler CD and it was a "huge" hit in the car. I need to remember to check in with Luke about some of those purchases. Whoops.

The appearance of the word stupid was temporary it seems hasn't recurred, which is a nice thing. It was just the one put down to the Storm Trooper and beyond that, nothing. Whew. We got Quinn signed up for swimming lessons at Learn to Swim at the U. Luke got a recommendation for their program from ECFE so we followed up and they are set to start in two weeks. Unfortunately, the first session interferes with sibling class at the hospital so we're going to have to arrange for a tour or something to supplement the lack of class. Spring break is at the end of the month and I think Quinn will take a break from school. It will save some money and perhaps he can spend a day or so with Nana and Papa. His last overnight there went well and even though it took him a while to recover from the change to his weekend routine, he slept the full night there and was in good spirits.

I must be in nesting mode a bit because I'm all about keeping up on laundry and picking up. Luke and I both are bracing ourselves for the deletion of personal time in the house. I can hardly believe that my son is almost 4 years old. I watch him in the bath tub and he's this tall, wiry little boy who has energy to spare. He loves to splash, lay on his back in the tub so he can hear the world muted and lately, poor water into his ear because he similarly likes that tunnel sensation, though we discourage the pouring exercise a ton.

My son loves the snowman book, dislikes walking up or downstairs alone because its scary, but embraces all things Star Wars. He loves to carry around his "gun" and attack the clones and wants his parents help as back up Jedi. He works to get the tiny plastic guns into the hands of his storm troopers and loves that his Dad built him a giant lego snow fort like thing for the battles on Hoth. He carried around the cardboard cut out of the figures in his Endor set and jumps on the bed whenever he has the chance. At present, his water bottle is the pink one and mine is the blue. He still loves the name Roger for the baby, but last night he asked me what we were going to name her. He loves to cuddle and now wants to sleep with his Star Wars pillow even though he prefers the flatness to the bed for his head. He is putting on his own clothes more and more, but his slightly large head presents problems for him, poor thing. He is chiefly concerned with touching my elbow and making sure that happens enough in each day. He enjoys corn dogs, Noodles and Co. mac and cheese and Cinnamon Toast crunch. He newly likes fruit snacks of all kinds it seems and first licks off the icing on cupcakes before diving into the substance.

And soon, there will be two children to adore and love. There will be two children to care for and worry for. There will be twice as much joy and twice as much pressure to make sure I do well by them both. I need to lesson plan for about 9 weeks and still manage to get through the rest of this student teaching experience, where I feel like I'm caretaking a 32 year old teacher in training. I wish there was a surplus of money so I wouldn't have to be thinking about money at the same time that I'm thinking about labor. To be fair though, my fears about labor are pretty minor. I know that I can do it, have done it and that I will get through it. It doesn't mean that will be pretty and even though my body can't conjure up memories of pain, I can see how I was walking, know in my head that sitting in the car was painful and recall that bathroom protocol took forever because of the "damage" done downstairs. But, I have an amazing little boy and he is superb, so I know I can do it. 12 hours of my life is 12 hours of my life and then a lifetime of joy as a newly minted parent.

Please let Luke be approved for additional unemployment... I just have to pray that all will be alright:)

So, I'm very, very excited to see how much the little one has grown and to assure myself that she's on course and healthy. I am planning for her birth to be a couple weeks early, like Quinn's, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things, delivering on time is the fiscally smart thing to do and better assures my sick days of lasting and the short term disability not being sucked dry with early bills. Asha is throwing me a shower, which is so very sweet. Better get ready for the day. I need to follow up on a tip Megan gave me for writing a short will online, a perk of our insurance or union benefits or something.

Quinn loves to be tickled. Luke is a superb tickler. He has Quinn squealing with delight, protesting and then jumping right back into the fray for more. It's a sort of perfect kind of happiness to witness. Yesterday Quinn and I made masks. They had apparently made some in school, but none appeared in Quinn's art drawers so to appease him, we made some at home. The tiger masks were sweet and funny, but beyond that, it was Quinn's excitement to crawl around like a tiger, turn our hands into paws and make "raaring" sounds together. My tiger mask was a sad creation, but Quinn didn't care a lick and enjoyed playing with me. One of the new terrific joys of being Quinn's Mom is his reading. At night, he will sometimes stop us during story time and tell us the story. He'll ask us to turn the pages, but at each new page, he tells us his own version and summary of the tale and in most cases his version includes a pull quote that is right from the book and accurate. He did this the other night with "What was I scared of?" from the Sneetches collection and last night, it was while Luke was doing his narration of the Snowman that Quinn would take over now and again and correct Luke when he would stray from his normal narration. I love that his memory is so active and his internalization of reading so unconscious:) Hopefully, this morning Quinn will be more agreeable to getting dressed. His new jammies are such a pull for him:) Besides, they need to be washed.

Friday we have a person lined up to interview for my position in the spring. Kind of exciting to get things rolling. I've got a training tomorrow and am taking a personal day on Monday for the ultrasound. It will be cool to see how much she's grown sine our last visit there. We're also meeting with the life insurance guy on Monday to get all of our ducks in a row for number 2. Life with the new car is going along swimmingly. I'm finding myself increasingly comfortable with the role of a passenger. I don't know if its the late term stages of pregnancy or simply not ever really liking to drive, but I love our carpooling and riding along with no responsibility.

Yesterday morning Quinn rose and immediately wanted to play his Lego SW game. I feign (and actually feel) a certain level of detachment from video games and don't want to be the go-to person for them. Maybe it's lame, but Luke and I have our roles and specialties with Quinn. I like baking with Quinn, prepping his meals, making his lunches, doing his laundry, etc. Luke is a great tickler, good about Quinn on his shoulders and playing video games. Both are very important roles and while they may seem to fall into gender categories, I don't wish to cross the line. I don't want to be an expert at the Wii. I don't think Luke wants to take over my duties either. At the same time, I do want to present to my "children", to coin an expression that will soon be reality, the balance that we have and the ability we both have to do either ones duties. i don't want to appear deficient to my role or relegated to certain tasks and I am sure Luke is on the same page.

Bought a few more bay girl items the other day while shopping at Southdale with Luke on the way down to Le Sueur. It's interesting to me how girl clothes seem almost always suited for a dress up occasion and boys clothes are designed for always relaxing. It's a weird mix and odd that the clothes determine the occupation or activity of the child. I'll do my best to shop smart for the little girl so that she has as much freedom and flexibility as Quinn to get dirty and be active.

Ok, back to bed before the actual wake-up time. Feeling sleepy:)