Recent pics and video!

The watermelon video is much older...from in the summer, pre-Mumum's hair cutting exploits (which have made him look even more handsome and boyish!)

Not Yet Walking, but Getting Around Just Fine!

    Quinlan is still working on walking, but that doesn't stop him from having a lot of fun at our local park. We go almost daily, so he has really gotten comfortable exploring the entire area. Typically, we walk over in the stroller and then park it and sit on the bench or grass and watch him play.

     He can crawl up and down curbs to get to the grass area or inspect the bushes. He definitely loves "dee dee" or trees and likes to go up and touch the bark and check out the leaves. Sometimes you have to encourage him to not pick up the litter than people left behind, or at least to hand it over so it can be properly disposed of in the trash can near by.

     He is always quite pleased with himself when he is able to pull up or climb to where he wants to be. And typically, if he doesn't have his serious-trying-to-figure-stuff-out face on, he is smiling.
     This little corner is great for him because it is shaded during the day and he doesn't need to wear his hat, which he is hating less, but still prefers to show off his strawberry blonde head.

 "Mama, watch me pull up on this bench?" He will then cruise along the side of it before sitting down again.

     He still loves to play with the wind chimes, but no longer needs someone to prop him up, as he can stand or kneel and bang them himself. Although, he still does not fully explore the tunnel next to it. He has started to show an interest in the slides though... let the adventures begin!
     Dada is hoping that he will have a future partner to ride roller coasters with in a few years time.

And Quinlan would like to remind us, that riding the dinosaurs is still pretty cool. 

Some recent Quinlan Videos

Quinlan continues to develop daily...these videos give a much better sense of him than our words can at this point.
Please enjoy!

More recent videos and pictures---Q tries rice noodles!

Per usual Quinlan is doing really well...he is developing new skills and surprising us each day and moment. He is such a pleasure to be with!

Here are some videos that try to capture his amazingly wonderful and cute nature! Enjoy!

Here are some pics from these weekend too!

Recent Pics and Videos

Quinlan, Jess and I are all doing really well.
Q is really growing by leaps and bounds...he is eating lots more exciting new foods, like lentils with indian spices, mangoes and strawberries, digestive biscuits, pesto, salmon burgers and rice.

 Click to view a video of Quinlan's after dinner game...
Also note that we sometimes have to cut a slit in his shirt in order to squeeze his head through!

Another video of Quinlan practicing his movement on the PT bench....earlier today with Dad!

http://youtu.be/XejZcOkosvk

Playing in the Sand

      Our local park uses sand instead of grass or wood chips as its ground cover, so it is almost like playing in a big sand box or being at the beach. Quinlan loves to belly crawl along the sand or kick it with his feet when sitting. It is very cute to watch, but no matter how much we brush him off, sand seems to appear in the crib or on the changing table.
     Quinlan also loves to comb the sand with his hand and finds all kinds of treasures that he hands to mama - sticks, rocks, leaves, bandaids, plastic, etc. He is single-handedly keeping the local playground clean, and having a blast doing it!

     Quinlan also likes to play in the tube slides, but is scared to actually go down them at this time. He prefers exploring in it, and banging against its walls. We are working on climbing up it, but he doesn't seem as interested in that yet. It is super cute to see his little legs kick as he is in there, as they don't reach the ground.
     Right next to the tube slides is a set of wind chimes that Quinlan like to pull and bang to make music. He has been playing with those since he was 8 months old, and just needs a willing parent to hold him up at the right level. Once he is standing though, he will be able to do it without support.
     Quinlan has been working on pulling himself up to standing. He can do it from a sitting position on a low bench but not from sitting on the floor yet. He seems to be real close and is very pleased with himself each time he stands.

Learning New Things

      Quinlan is trying all kinds of new things. Like riding this pink plastic trunk at the park off the bike path. This picture really makes him look like a toddler. He really loves to beep the horn and is getting the hang of balancing while sitting on the trunk.
      Quinlan is also more mobile now and belly crawls all over the house. If left for a few seconds playing alone, you may find him sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Currently he only seems interested in banging the shiny silver garbage can and playing with the lower magnets on the fridge. The kitchen is the least baby proofed room, so we are keeping an eye on him and trying to move things that we had not thought of as dangerous before.

     Quinlan still enjoys the swings, but we have been trying out different parks in the area so he can at least try different swing sets. This one here is at a more mommy-friendly level and does not require a lot of bending or crouching to push.
     However, this park is made up of wood chips, and as we learned at a different park, Quinlan sometimes decides they look good to gnaw on. Some of the local parents set up some of their older plastic toys, so at least Quinlan could play on the truck. The other parts of this park we a little too old for Q, so after the sings and truck riding, we had a snack and walked home.
     This was the first day over 70 degrees, so Quinlan sported his fisherman's hat and plaid shorts. We are trying to keep him in long sleeves as much as possible to avoid sun exposure, although Ben researched and bought a bunch of baby-safe sunscreen. We want our fair little man to enjoy the outside, but not at the cost of his skin.

During the Lockdown in Boston

     Technically Medford was not in the zone under lock down while Boston police and FBI searched for the suspects in the marathon bombings. However, we were highly encouraged to stay in doors, and the institute that mommy works at on Fridays had been closed. Since it was school vacation week, we were all home together that day.
     We went for a very short walk in the AM just down the street 1/2 way and back as mommy heard sirens and wanted to avoid anything potentially harmful. We then played inside and even set up an outdoor play area on our back porch. However, mommy, daddy and Quinlan soon got bored of that and we decided to venture out (cautiously) for a walk.
     Before we knew we were at the park 2 blocks away, Quinlan started squawking when the swings were visible and we thought "how to you explain a terrorist threat to a 13 month old who wants to go on the swings?"

     We decided that you don't and you allow him a few minutes of pure joy, while being very aware of your surroundings. The chase and man hunt were over 3 miles from our area so we felt confident that everything would be fine.
     We even got a shout out of an upstairs window from a local mom thanking us for our smiles. It seems we brought joy to both Quinlan and some local families as well.

     Quinlan truly loves his time on the swings!

Quinlan's First Fever

 
     Last weekend, Quinlan spiked a fever of 103.9 when daddy was watching him and mommy was away with the car. This had both of us nervous, as Quinlan has not really been sick since leaving the NICU. We called the pediatrician's office and were given parameters to monitor him to determine if we needed to bring him to the hospital.
     Quinlan did not have any signs of a respiratory infection, stomach issues, nor a rash, so we waited it out. After 2 days of 101-103 deg fevers, we went to the pediatrician's office for a holiday sick visit (as it was Patriot's Day and the regular office was closed.) By the time we drove down to Braintree, Quinlan was barely warm, cooing, and playing as if nothing was wrong. The doctor looked in his ears, listened to his lungs, and declared that he was fine.
   

     During his fever, all he wanted to do was read and be held. We kept him in cool clothing, tried to keep him hydrated, and enjoyed ever moment holding him.
      For a short time, he forgot that he was more interested in exploring the world and just wanted the comfort of his parents. And we obliged. We took turns holding him, and read through a good portion of his book shelf. Allowing him to turn the pages or just nuzzle against our necks.
     He slept surprisingly well, and was awoken only when we went to check in on him and give him another dose of Motrin. This was a pleasant surprise, as friends whose kids had recently been ill told us woes of being up with them every 40 minutes.
     By Marathon Monday, or Patriot's Day, Quinlan was well on the mend with both parents home to support him. This meant that the 3 of us were far from the finish line when the bombs went off. An unforeseen blessing.
   

Sorry, It Has Been A While...

    Quinlan is learning and mastering new things every day, and it really is fascinating to see the world through his eyes. It almost makes waking up before 6 AM every morning worth it!    
     A couple of weeks ago, Daddy constructed this double ball drop tower (6 levels instead of 3) that amazed and puzzled Quinlan. We showed him how to drop the ping pong balls in and watch them wind their way down, but he was more interested in banging the balls together in his hands or knocking the tower down.
     Mommy then took 3 of the levels off and from his belly his picked up a ball in one hand and placed in on the tower. We had to work on letting the ball go, but now he crawls over to it and with drop the ball and watch it wind down for 20 minutes!

     Yes, you read that correctly, Quinlan is now belly crawling!!! He started crawling a couple of weeks ago. At first it was only a couple of feet to reach a desired toy, but now he has discovered that he can crawl over the threshold of his room and will likely start following us around the apartment next.
      We took a video of his first crawling, which some of you may have already seen. It is great to see that he was, and is still, most motivated to move towards his favorite books. He is such a bibliophile and loves lying on his belly flipping through his board or flip-the-flap books. One can divert him away from playing with cords or other potential hazards, by opening a favorite book on the opposite side of the room.
     While he is crawling, he is still working on transitioning from belly to sitting, but can now get himself from sitting to his belly without help. Go Quinlan!