He's Got the Giggles!

What a delight Quinton is. I wish so badly that every one of you lived close enough to stop by for an hour and hear him giggle. It seems like everything is funny these days as he learns more about this hilarious world that we live in. Today we played with a baby wipe for 20 minutes. Now I don't know about the rest of you but I didn't know that a baby wipe could be so much fun and produce so many giggles until Quinton came along. Baby wipes are quite possibly our favorite toy today, tomorrow it might be mitten or a kitchen spoon or some other random household item laying around... I'll keep you posted.

Here are some videos of giggling for you all to enjoy. I hope that his Papa enjoys these while he is recovering from his hand surgery... I'm sure these will help you feel better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9Sxke9-UTU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfcm5cfOXKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-BMQt7IyTU

Thanksgiving Fun!

What a fun first Thanksgiving for Quinton. Although he did not eat any turkey or mashed potatoes he did enjoy some squash, and some banana plum combo. What a lucky guy. We enjoyed our day with the Rude family and many other guests, some international students from Drake that didn't have a place to go for Thanksgiving. It was fun to celebrate with people who have never had thanksgiving before. I attempted to make a cheese ball but it turned into more of a cheese pile... it was not the best thing I had ever eaten! We enjoyed family time and football. Quinton is quite a popular guy among his extended family (both the Rudes and the Millers). He was held and played with and in very good spirits considering a terrible cough that he has been battling for a week now.

Quinton and his 16 month old cousin Eden playing together!

We took a video of Quinton playing with his cousin Eden and his dad. If you listen you should be able to hear him laugh. He was laughing so hard while playing with a ball and Eden.... Enjoy... sorry it's a little noisy with all the people around!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hde3FJcfM0

Warm Pajamas!!!

While Nana and Papa were visiting the bought Quinton some warm fuzzy new pajamas. He looks so stylish in stars! Quinn had quite a fun time with his grandparents. They played with him, fed him, changed him, bathed him, kissed him and didn't put him down for 2 1/2 days. You would think that they like him...

Quinton is not crawling yet but wants so badly to be on the move. There are bets that he will be crawling by Christmas although I am having a hard time believing that he will be... we will just have to wait and see. Hopefully Nana and Papa have a gate so that he doesn't tumble down the stairs.

These past couple of days Quinton has also discovered his tongue and it hangs out his mouth for all to see. It is pretty funny. He is also enjoying a wide variety of foods and the puffs that dissolve in his mouth... our little boy is growing up!

Gearing up for Winter

Quinton was trying out his new red hat the other day and I couldn't resist taking a slew of pictures! He looks so stylish in his vest and red hat... I think that he is better dressed than his parents.

Absolutely everything goes into his mouth these days. His Papa was very nice to bring him his own cell phone that he can chew on and drool all over because mom and dad's are off limits. He does not have any teeth yet but we are waiting for some to pop through.

Every day with Quinton is so much fun and we are learning new ways of being entertained inside now that the cold weather is upon us. We are looking forward to having Quinton around to celebrate his first Thanksgiving and Christmas. What a fun time of year!

Bath Time!

Quinton LOVES bath time. He plays in his little tub until his fingers and toes are all prunes. It is fun to watch him discover how to splash. Quinton still has no hair so I more or less shampoo his scalp and try to stimulate some hair growth (something I learned at cosmetology school)!

Just as handsome as ever!

About 20 minutes after Quinn got out of the bath he filled his diaper and covered his backside so it was back in the tub for round two. I think that he did that on purpose just so that he could have another bath!

It's Getting Colder...

We have officially entered winter. On Monday Quinton and I took a walk and both of us were in t-shirts. By Thursday this is what Quinn looked like on our walk....

I think that Quinton and I are going to become mall walkers this winter. Although the scenery is not as pretty and the air is not as fresh the exercise is still good for us and I'm sure Quinn will enjoy the Christmas decorations and all the lights. It's so strange to think that when the weather is nice again Quinn will be walking. I have a feeling that our walks will be a lot slower next spring when he's walking... maybe I will get him to push me around.

My Little Jumping Bean

Quinton has finally discovered how to use his Jumperoo! Up until a couple weeks ago he just hung out, looked at the lights flashing but didn't do a whole lot of jumping. Now he has discovered how much fun he can have in his jumperoo. It is a blast watching him and he has the time of his life. I think that Dan is having just as much fun as Quinton is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae08mzHPQAU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC7G41xo0YI
sorry I'm not sure how to make the videos horizontal... I guess next time I will just have to take them the right way!

Quinton also has discovered how to clap. It is amazing to watch how when I clap he will now clap back (not every time but he is still clapping!!). He also has discovered his how to reach for EVERYTHING and dives for things on the table, on the floor, in your hands and they are usually things that he shouldn't have. He is pretty sweet though and becoming so much fun as he discovers the world!

A Weekend in Minnesota

What a good looking group!!

Quinton and I drove up to Minnesota for the weekend to visit Aunt Kelly (who came in from Madison), Aunt Dana and Uncle Ryan. It was a fun relaxing weekend, a nice time to catch up and enjoy each others company. It is always fun to spend time together, although I'm pretty sure that time with Quinton is more desired than time with me, but I' m getting used to it. I also was reminded why my parents (Nana and Papa) moved to Arkansas. It was snowing as to drove south... I don't think that I'm ready for the cold yet!

What a handsome little guy!

Playing in the leaves at Aunt Dana's house!

Quinton got to hang out with Uncle Ryan while the girls went to a movie. Doesn't he look studly in Uncle Ryan's hat? It might be a little big!!

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Quinton enjoying the Hay Ride!...It was pretty warm out that is why he is not wearing any socks or shoes!

Me and my favorite little boy!

A group of 7 of us moms and our children went to the pumpkin patch the other weekend. Although Quinton and a few of his friends were too young to run around it was still a fun day. The weather was beautiful and it was fun watching all the little kids playing with the animals and in the hay. Next year will be a blast. Above is my friend Yvonne's son Noah. He is three and seems to think that it is his job to protect Quinn. He is always keeping an eye out for him, making sure that he is doing ok. What a pal!

We're missing two moms and children but this is part of the group!

Videos

Meg conquered her fear of YouTube and posted some videos of Q:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=IKp7Sex8pH4
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CoJDgiqMkf0
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UIZIbPxv0kk
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=TRx4AJ0-yz8
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=gU46Pfq6ryQ

Thanks to the ease of posting ("Wow.... This is SOOO easy!!" she says), expect more videos in the future!

Yum!

Quinton LOVES playing in the grass! Hopefully the weather in IA stays nice for a while so he can enjoy the grass for a while longer before the snow flies.
In addition to playing in the grass, Q loves eating it! (okay, so not really eating it, but at least licking it)

And look at how excited he is that Mom is feeding him real food! Just don't try to feed him green beans ... he's NOT a fan ...

Math wiz?

Meg and Quinn were in Mpls for a wedding over Labor Day weekend and stayed at Dana's house. Grandma Miller's old abacus was pretty mesmerizing to Q ... do we have a math genius on our hands?

Papa and Gigi visit Quinn

Q's grandparents were making their loop through the Midwest and stopped to get some Q-time!

Quinn and his Dad at Caribou.



Since Quinn's Mom wouldn't share her cooler, Q decided to chomp on Dad's nose instead.



Yes - we were at Caribou again!



Listen to Quinn and Papa have a "conversation".

Swimming!

The Rudes were in the Wisconsin Dells the weekend before last and I met them up there for a couple days. I got to experience Q's first trip to the pool! The water was a little chilly the first day (hence the tears below), but Meg assures me he loved it when they took him to a warmer pool.

Getting sunscreened:

In the pool:
Tummy time:

Skiing

Quinn is practicing his water skiing for the next time he gets to go out on the boat with Papa:

Auntie D

Dana was in Des Moines last weekend to visit with the Rudes. She got in a little nap with Q and lots of snuggles:

He's getting better at playing with toys and reaching for things:

Poser

This picture cracked us up! Does he know how to pose for the camera or what?!

Wedding stud

After a delay on my part, here are some pics of Q at the wedding in Chicago with his parents - what a good looking bunch!

A mover and shaker

Quinn is much more animated these days and it was fun to see how much he'd changed just in the couple months since I saw him last. He is very content to lay on his back, especially if someone is talking to him - then he gets really excited and wiggles around like crazy. He's smiling a lot and reaching for his toes. Q seems to be particularly concerned with toning his arms and abs as he's quite fond of the Superman pose with his arms straight up in the air, and also of doing bicycles with his legs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6c_KPn0yW4

Chicagoland

The Rudes were in Chicago this past weekend for a wedding and I was in town for our cousin's graduation party, so I got to spend some time with all of them. Quinn got to meet his great grandmother and second cousin, Rachel, among other relatives.

Q, Meg, and Grammy Abell:

Rachel was intrigued by "baby Quinn" and checked out Elmo on his diaper, shared her toys and books, and even tried to feed him his bottle:

Q and his new outfit from Grammy:

Bumbo chair

Quinn got to borrow his cousin's Bumbo chair the other day to try it out. He's a little wobbly still, as you can see, but he sure looks like a happy boy!

"Okay, Mom, this was fun, but now I'm stuck!"

And a clean boy, too!