Quinn loves to recite lines from "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs". He asks Luke or I to act as the wolf or pig and he takes on the other role. He's fabulous about acting out the part, knocking on the door and asking for sugar to make his grandmother's cake. He likes the idea of saying "No, go away Pig" or "Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin". He sounds so adorable sometimes when he's acting as the wolf and needing sugar for the cake, that I often agree and had over the sugar so he can make his imaginary cake:) Sweet boy.

He also likes to sing, "Let's go fly a kite... " but he loses some of the lines. From Jingle bells, he's adept at the dashing through the snow verse when he acts like he's tapping the musical sticks together. He was quite the adorable little boy at the sing along. He liked traveling up to the main floor of the dorm via the elevator, so much so that the next time I picked him up, he wanted to go upstairs to get a cookie, just like at the show. The show was very crowded and so there was little room for Quinn who sat squashed next to other kids. He didn't sing much, but at one point in the show, he did stand up, lift his shirt and show off his tummy. Nice:)

Quinn has taken to enjoying a stick of gum now and then. His Dad got him started on it on the route to school as a way to cover his breath:) He also very much likes chocolate covered pretzels, pudding, and suckers. The first time that I asked him what he wanted for Christmas he actually said "suckers" and then said toys. I was the one who sort of planted the kitchen idea, but he did very much want one, I think.

I am having terrible indigestion and heartburn problems. Following a rough day earlier this week, I haven't been able to eat normally and everything seems to affect me. Uggh. I am tired and worn down from being pregnant and worrying that my care for Quinn suffers because of it. I don't know if heading back to school will be a good thing or not. There's tons going on this month, much that I am in charge of. I have tons to do before I head back to school and all I want to do is sleep, feel well and spend quality time with my family.

Quinn is quite the active reader most nights now. I delight in watching him read to himself and recount the events of what is happening. He has a new book called Too Many Toys and there's a page with many images of people. Quinn points out a quite unattractive threesome that he labels Luke, Quinn and I. Odd and funny:)

My son is marvelously imperfect. Lately, there's a sassiness to how he may first speak to someone. When corrected, he adjusts his language so that he is nicer and more respectful, but there is certainly some element of bossiness:) Of course, I was titled Bossy Becky, so he comes by it naturally. Actually, I think the modeling is from school and more specifically, Quinn's BFF McCall. Having seen the two of them at the Chuck E Cheese party for ND a week or so ago, McCall wears the pants in that friendship. She leads and Quinn follows along:) Don't get me wrong, she's a sweet girl, but I theorize that there's a chance Quinn knows his role with McCall, but is eager to establish a powerful role in other segments of his life. And honestly, I don't want him to be a kid who does exactly as he is told in life, but I suppose I like when he listens well to me:)

Christmas was a fascinating affair. Quinn did pretty well with the advent calendars, though we know now not to use chocolate ones as they are too tempting. That was Grandma McCammon's deal, not ours:) We bought the sensible and probably extravagant Lego calendar and it day by day created a very cool village winter scene. Nice. Christmas morning came and we were excited to bring him down stairs at 7:30. Luke had stayed up late to build his kitchen and had all of the Santa gifts wrapped in hohoho paper, to distinguish it from the family paper. Quinn saw the lovely gifts and started to cry. Where was Santa, he wondered? He was devastated that the big man wasn't there to deliver the gifts themselves and had been more interested in seeing Santa in his own home than the gifts themselves. Needless to say, Luke and I both realized that perhaps we had needed to be more specific about Santa's plans and delivery method-- next year...

This year we didn't make the Macy's display, which was a bummer. The season was SO very busy that we just couldn't get downtown. He did go to the Breakfast with Santa with Grandma McCammon and Santa made an appearance at the Beck Christmas for Nicky and Quinn. With my Mom, he had to observe Santa from a distance for some time before he was ready to approach, but eventually he did. With the Beck's, he was unsure and quiet, but did sit on Santa's lap- eyeing him the whole time with some suspicion. The idea of Santa was alive and well in many of the films Quinn watched this holiday season though, including the excellent next Pixar short, Prep and Landing, The Santa Clause 2 and the classic Reindeer series Lana and Larry gave to us a year or so ago.

Quinn received a plethora of quality gifts and was keen on opening presents this year. We picked up a kitchen for him, a Buzz shirt, a Buzz and spaceship lego set, books, a Phinneus and Ferb movie and a winter ensemble. Believe me when I say that clothing is not a gift he cares much about getting, but he needed a new jacket, hat and we got him a cool scarf/neck wrap deal.

One of my favorite holiday moments of the season was on our way down for Christmas Eve dinner with the McCammon's. It had been a rough day and evening as Quinn had been up the previous night throwing up a ton. We were very careful with him the following day and when we had to eventually pack up and head to Burnsville, Quinn was deeply unhappy and crying a ton. After much protestation, we made it out the door. Luke was wise and put the holiday music radio station on and we made our way south. The song Feliz Navidad came on and Quinn was pleased and began to sing along. This was one of the songs from his preschool sing along, so it was nice to hear him sing some of the words since his performance at the school show was absent:) Anywho, the song comes to an end on the radio and Quinn wants to hear it again. Bless him for knowing that modern technology usually allows for repeat. In a parenting pinch, Luke and I turned the radio off and began to sing ourselves. Oh, the pain of our blended tones and pitches and a total lack of knowledge about the words. When we came to the Spanish section that wasn't Feliz Navidad, we both broke into pathetic humming... it was absolutely hilarious and wonderful.

As testament to Quinn's deep love of Star Wars, when we arrived at Ethan and Ellie's house yesterday for the Edberg Christmas celebration, he immediately found Ethan's light saber and carried it with him the whole day, even sitting with it at dinner. Right now, I can hear Quinn in the background, running about with his police stick, which he has turned into a gun-like weapon that sounds a great deal like a laser blaster from Star Wars:) For Christmas, he added a few new Star Wars lego kits to his collection and two Star Wars books. He also, compliments of Dad, had a Star Wars tree in his bedroom.

Familiar and common phrases: "Member, Mommy" or "Member, Daddy". There are many references to what we should recall or remember. "Told you" is another common phrase that alludes to our inability to keep up with Quinn's many realizations. We are also told on multiple occasions that "Member Mommy, told you..." and that paired phrase is quite nice:) He also now redirects us and says that Daddy told him something that could happen and that I should acquiesce. We aren't sure if this is an act of actual mischief or if he is trying to simply explain the other side and it sounds affirmative without meaning to.

We still very much like suckers, pizzas and going to Noodles and Company. The other day after coming back from the Beck's Christmas, we stopped at Noodles for dinner and for 50 some minutes, Quinn sat and ate and visited with us. His fruits are primarily red delicious apples and bananas, but he also has started eating my strawberry fruit snacks which is a cool move. I can hear him now in the background saying, "To the city and beyond" which actually translates to "To Infinity and Beyond" but we'll not mince words.

Due to his illness and the mayhem of some days, Quinn has delighted in wearing his pajamas well into the days. Right now he's wearing his new red snowman pajamas from Grandma Edberg and couldn't be cozier. He also had a dandy new pair of flannel-like Buzz pajamas from Nana and Papa. He also is the proud owner of a couple of pretty tacky looking Star Wars pj's, which he adores:) We are still remarkably content in diapers and when I say we, I mean Quinn. I don't mind him taking his time, but believe me, he is content in his pull ups:) I suppose his only point of discontent is that he sometimes would rather just putter along all day without having to change and it's annoying for him to have to stop for a change. Funny.

My son is still the most gentle and sweet little boy that I've ever known. It is not uncommon for him to take my hand as we're sitting next to each other and hold it. He likes very much to cuddle face to face and cup my cheeks in his hands. He will very gently rub my forearm or back without provocation and just to be sweet. The other evening he rained kisses on Dad and I, back and forth as he sat between us in the bed while we read stories. Truly, his affectionate and loving ways are one of my very favorite things about my marvy son. On the other end of the spectrum he remains a devoted light saber user and instructs people on how to stand and hold the instrument. When he just recently told me that there were imaginary mean guys in the living room, he told me I had to get my sword. He had his stick/gun. When I raised my hands with fists he told me that I couldn't fight with my hands:)

One hilarious moment recently came when we tried to watch Mary Poppins. He likes to sing the "Let's go fly a kite" song from the movie and it is one of Lana's favorites. The movie starts out with a darker screen and you can see the cloudy rooftops of buildings. That scene, to him, was scary. Now, he'll sit contented through the Clone Wars and not shirk, but MP is scary. Funny. To be fair though, he considers a number of things scary lately. Upstairs, when no one is up there, for example, is scary and the same with downstairs or even a darker room. We do our best to talk about how there isn't something scary there, but we also accompany him so that he feels safe.

Misc. notes: My son likes things to be zipped up nearly all the way when he wears them. There's no middle ground for him. Quinn has enjoyed ice cream with his breakfast at least 3 times in recent memory. Quinn went sledding for the first time with his cousins Ethan and Ellie at the Huber farm just yesterday. He liked it very much. He actually got a sled from Grandma Beck, but we haven't taken it out yet. It also lacks a rope attached to it, which is kind of a bummer because toting him around on snow isn't nearly the task if carrying him. I dragged Ethan, Ellie and Quinn around the farm yesterday and it was fun:)

Quinn is marvelous

I want Mommy. This phrase will often accompany Quinn when he is melting down and crying. However, this does not mean that he actually wants me. Instead, he craves a symbol of Mommy-like sympathy and goodness, someone who will not refuse him another window in his advent calendar or ice cream for breakfast. Not to be mistaken for a saint, my son has had ice cream for breakfast at least twice in his life, but always accompanied by some other substantive food item. Does that make it ok?:) This week was Quinn's first preschool program and it was the holiday sing along. Despite its apt title, Quinn did not actually sing along. He looked at Luke and I, mouthed the words "I want Mommy" and was generally taken with the large crowd of adults watching him and his friends. I think he was crowded next to his friends in a circle too small for them all and this meant that he didn't have the arm room for jingling bells or hitting sticks. And, my darling son is not the most assertive and didn't move his frame to get to a better position. Ah, Quinn. Luke and I invested in a lego advent calendar which has been quite fun to open. Star Wars remains the cat's meow in the house and he is often seen wearing his Star Wars jammies with his light saber attached to the top of his pajama pants. Quinn is quite the light saber expert nowadays and reminds me that I need to hold it with two hands and also that there are certain poses which allow him to "attack" in certain ways. Ah, the padewon in my son:)

A day for reflection

You want to be the catalyst for good. You want to inspire positivity. You want to be part of the reason your child prospers. Yesterday's visit to Quinn's preschool was a bit eye opening for me. I was meant to watch him in his normal classroom. Instead, it turned out to be gym day and I watched the arduous process of getting kids dressed, lined up in handholding pairs and walked across campus to the gym. My normally obedient and mellow son became someone a bit more impetuous and rebellious. It started small. Little things that he might do that weren't a big deal but that deviated from the teacher's directions, all done under the watchful eye of his mother. I didn't want to be his mother in this scenario and discipline him and I think he knew that. This was his territory. He ran from the group in the gym, inspiring others to run freely. He got upset on the return trip to the school because he wanted to run and then insisted on being carried by me. On our way back into the school for lunch, he determined that he wanted to hold the door open, even though another little boy has been assigned that task and then proceeded to weep in dismay because of that loss. His teachers had never seen him upset or acting this way. Ah, the influence of his mother. My conclusion is that with me there, he could be vulnerable and test bounds and assumed that I would advocate for him. His friends stared at him shocked while he cried because he's never cried at school. Wild. SO, I won't be returning to observe any time soon because he is more content to live in one world at a time. I was happy to see the patience and care of all his teachers and no one was rash or angry or frightening in his presence. I am glad for that. He has a sweet group of boys and girls that he is happy to call his friends. And, I feel quite sure that within five minutes from my departure, he was back to normal. I say this because he went on to eat almost his whole packed lunch. Luke and I had some good discussion about the day's events, though I should mention that none of what happened surprised Luke. I avoid situation where I have to discipline Quinn if I can. He has pretty good reason to think that if he wants something that I will try to make that happen- somehow. I don't think of myself as a total push over and Quinn remains physically safe in my presence, but he has a good deal of latitude with me and I need to reign that in- for his sake. I'd rather make changes now than when he's 16.

One terrific moment from yesterday was when I walked into our bedroom after Quinn's nap and saw Quinn and his Dad ticked into the bed with their chests showing above the sheets, reading a book together. The pair looked so content and so like one another that it warmed my heart. Quinn loves storytime and I love that he loves it:) See, I do some things right:) We've picked up some new books this week that are fun, though Quinn is newly in love with The Frog Prince continued and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Luke tried to improv the actual 3 Little Pigs for Quinn last night so we has some sense of the original.

Quinn ate three bananas yesterday. Awesome.

Quinn's father is wonderful. Luke is the yin to my yang. Take for instance, his approach to bath time. Luke has taught Quinn how to pour water over his head to prep for washing his hair, how to scrub all his parts with soap and wash and rinse his hair. After Quinn's bath, Luke folded his little son into the towel and swung him around to the absolute delight of Quinn who then wanted to wrap me in a blanket and swing me. Not happening:) Though, Luke allowed him to try and we giggled at my lack of momentum. We all have our strengths and gifts and in Luke I see a person who is ready to teach his son new skills as often as Quinn is ready for them and I really like that. Goodness knows I have loads of patience for Quinn and oodles of love, as does Luke, but I must miss those windows when Quinn is ready to learn and grow up and Luke is keenly aware of them. Thank goodness we're a team!

It's been the first snowy week of the fall and Quinn needs new boots, new snow pants, essentially- the works. In some things, he's even sprouting into 4T clothes. Gracious.

I love storytime with Quinn. Even though I am sometimes exhausted from the day and ready to hit the sack I cannot resist him when he asks for more books. Plus, he's newly invested in linking the illustration to the words on the page and asks question after question about what he's seeing. In the past, he was content to hear our voices and passively follow the story- or so it appeared. It turns out he has passages and phrases memorized from most of his books:) Nowadays, he is very precise about wanting to understand cause and effect in the picture, characters and action. Nice:)

Quinn continues to love his Eggo pancakes and waffles, but he's a new fan of chicken tacos from Trader Joe's. He also continues to love suckers and his Halloween stash of candy provided a supply of M's, as he pronounces them. Alright, must get ready for school. More details about Quinn soon, I hope!

Quinn's voice makes me happy

I love the sound of Quinn's voice, especially at moments like this when I'm actually sitting in the dining room working (yes, I'm taking a break) on my stupid grad paper, while Quinn entertains himself with his legos and Wallace and Gromit in the background. I love the sound of his voice because it means he's manipulating character and creating something imaginative and fun with his mind. I glance into the room and he's got little lego men and women running up a lego piece that looks like lawn (or something). His ability to play solo is pretty astounding, not simply because it gives me time and space to do a sundry of things, but because his propensity to focus on something for a length of time without adult influence is growing and that kind of intellectual independence is awesome. Earlier, as I was napping, Quinn joined me for his nap. Even though I was awakened by his presence, I chose to feign sleep. Quinn snuggled in next to me and then, started breathing very loudly, on purpose. He placed his cheek next to mine and a lego figure started to dance along my upper chest. The heavy breathing continued until I woke up. Naturally, Quinn smiled and then he launched into an introduction to the lego figure on my chest. The little man had a treasure box and in it, he explained, was something for my birthday. Sweet boy. It only took about 3/4 of Horton Hatches an Egg and he was napping soundly:) Luke wants me to be better about putting Quinn's pants back on after I change Quinn's diapers. Usually, it's in the evening and I just let him run around pantless. He likes it and I get to see his cute little boy legs. Luke claims this is why he doesn't bring the camera out because our child is never clothed. Me, I have an image of Quinn's feet on the desktop of this computer, in addition to one where my naked son is sitting on Dad's lap (adorably). Must return to the paper.

My darling son

Ah, the adventures we have had. Sometimes I bask in his glory and know that I need to write more often about my brilliant one, but I mistakenly believe that I will remember more of what he does. Of course, this is a false truth because even as I write in this moment it is difficult for me to conjure anything except for a feeling that he is marvelous and good. One of his newest treats is that he likes to say things multiple times in a row. Usually this is a question and it's usually in 3's. He has also taken to laying down over one of the ottoman's until his face turns red from gravity and then he asks for help getting up. That, or he wants you to sit before him so he can see you from his upside down stance:) Last week without Luke was especially exhausting, but we pulled through despite a few moments where I was putting a kicking and reluctant child into his car seat. His new favorite shows are snippets of dinosaur train and word girl. He's a PBS boy more than ever nowadays and that's pretty cool. He's got the sweetest little red whistle now that makes funny noises when he exhales and inhales. He and I picked this up at Creative Kids Stuff this past Saturday when we met Tashy and Sidney for coffee. He managed to spill a ton down his front, but still looked adorable. Preschool continues to go well, even though he is exhausted in the evenings. His teachers report that he has good energy, a good group of friends and is very relaxed there. It's cool to have an exact measure of what he ate by looking at his lunch box. Here and there we have good potty moments. He peed on the pot last week, but the following morning was content to let me feed him his cereal in bed while he laid in a puddle of pee. Funny kid. Quinn likes granola bars, which is awesome and peanuts too. He is big into balloons and knows that when we pass Trader Joe's that that is the store where he gets a balloon. Morning sickness and general nausea has made me quite the picky eater and my nose is forever averse to certain scents, especially meat lately. I also have the gagging response to vitamins. Quinn and I continue to co-sleep and I was cheered to hear that my midwife nursed until her son was three and also coslept. At some point my dear boy will have to stop laying across my chest, but for now we're ok. Quinn likes the idea of me having two names, Mommy and Becky and that Daddy is also Luke. It doesn't make sense to him that he is Quinny and our son. He'll grasp that soon enough:) We recently had our screening at the Speech and Language Place. He tested on the low side of normal so we have to wait and see if insurance will approve therapy sessions. It would be great if they would for the additional support, though it is one more thing to add to our already busy week. Quinn didn't make it to boys class this week because I think he just wanted to stay home and chill. Poor kid.