Journey to the Knot: Half-Way to THREE! Quinn's 2 1/2 Newsletter

Dear Quinn,
In the last three months, you have continued to shine and show off your amazing personality. Daddy and I always marvel at what a funny little boy you have become. You are silly and witty, yet you are beyond smart and so very curious and clever. Clever - it's such a good word to describe you. Your comedic timing, your memory, your problem solving, your sentence structure and the way you communicate. You are well beyond what I would expect from a two and a half year old, and we hear that a lot from others.

While you are exceptionally bright, funny, loving, and playful, you are also clearly testing your boundaries and our limits. Especially as we welcomed your little brother, Knox, into our lives, you are checking to make sure Mommy & Daddy are still going to hold you to the same standards as before this big life change. We are, sweet boy, and it hasn't been easy, I know. Life is different now, and attention can be somewhat scarce, but our love and expectations are not any different. I strive to continue to spend one-on-one time with you, to give you a great deal of my affection and attention, and this will always be a goal of mine. I LOVE my time with you, and I'm sorry it's been shifted slightly in the past 3 weeks. I want you to know that I will continue to make this a priority.

So, what else have you been up to these past few months:

-Some of my favorite quotations: "I want you to wipe my crying" and "I have snot," are heard very often when you want us to use a Kleenex to clean your face. "Let the song do the singing, because you are not a big singer," (said when I was singing "Down by the Bay" in the car 1/12/16), "Mommy, you are beautiful like Elsa from Frozen," (when I walked in from a late meeting right before bedtime 1/13/16), "I love you; you're the best in the world," (said over and over again before nap one day while I was changing your diaper, and we kept telling each other this), "I was so disappointed I didn't get to check out a book; it made me sad," (2/3/16, said after school one day), "I had my listening ears on, and I used them!" (2/3/16, also said when I came into the classroom to pick you up after school), "Do you know what? Banner gave me a kiss because he loves me!" (2/7/16), "Mommy, can I have a scream (screen)?", and when you say Banner's lines from his upcoming Purim play.... "you might manage to save your body, but how will you save your soul?!" (LOVE it!)

-A favorite memory from January - taking you and Banner to Legoland, and you were loving it. You would dance from one room to the other.

-Speaking of, you love dancing still. You like to copy Banner's "tushy dance," saying "Do the Tushy Dance, Do the Tushy Dance." You love to dance to the Maccabeats' songs. You love to throw yourself on the floor or on the bed and be quite the goofball while dancing.

-You've shown more interest in wanting to use the potty. You still go on the potty before every bath/shower, and on occasion you will ask to use the toilet throughout the day. I'm still not rushing this process - as I have no desire to potty train you right now with a new baby brother and the potential that you will regress in certain areas. We will probably wait until this summer, but maybe you'll train yourself before then! :)

-We took you to an ENT yesterday for him to examine the reason you are continuing to snore when sleeping. You're loud. You may possibly be the reason that Banner can't sleep well. You kind of sound like a grown man when you snore. We will be taking you back to the ENT in 6 weeks to make a final decision about surgery or not. Since you are recovering from a bout with RSV and a potential ear infection, we are going to wait for a bit. Speaking of, yes, you got RSV (for the second time). It really took a toll on you. You were so very lethargic (especially last Monday), had no appetite, had diarrhea, were coughing quite a bit, had a runny nose, and just wanted to sleep so much. I knew something was off, so we took you to Dr. B, who ran an RSV test ONLY because of Knox. Sure enough, you passed it to both of your brothers.

-I wish you would try new foods more and channel your inner infant who used to eat anything! I miss the boy who used to eat nearly any fruit and nearly every vegetable. Now, you barely eat anything I give you. Noodles are still a top choice, and you still love chocolate, strawberries, Mandarin oranges, Jell-O, pudding, Rice Krispies, pretzels, marshmallows, grilled cheese, "dinosaur gummies," and Pirates Booty. When it comes to meat, you are not a big fan. Hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs - you'll eat them, but it's hit or miss on any given day/meal. The only thing I love about your eating - you don't like candy! You want to like it, but you just don't. I know I've written about this before, but I wanted to note it again because it's funny to me that after all these months, you still think you love it, but you have no interest in it. I rarely fight you on giving it to you because I know you won't really eat it.

-You get very upset when your feel that your things or your space will be taken from you. This is the only time I've seen you get aggressive with others, shouting or screaming at them, pushing or hitting.

-You love Team Umizoomi, Letter Factory, Grandma, Levi, going to school and seeing your friends, playing games (Guess Who, Sorry, Connect Four.... although you don't follow any particular rules), going to Ms. Patty's to swim (yay!), screens and watching YouTube, PlayDoh, being "Super Quinn," pretending to be mean ("I'm a bad guy!" said with a pucker and a mean face), having 100% of my attention - and it's multiplied when you have Daddy and I to yourself, copying Banner, playing rough with him ("fighting" and beating each other up pretending to be bad guys), My Gym, snacks, McDonald's & Chuck E Cheese, and Daddy (he's definitely your preferred parent right now).

Quinn Redding, 2 and a half years ago, you were as little as Knox is now. I remember you at this early age so clearly, and while I long for those newborn days with you, I have loved watching you become this big boy you are now! In the past few months, before Knox was born, we tried to cuddle up on the glider before bedtime, and my growing pregnant belly was making our cuddle become quite uncomfortable. You would squirm all over my disappearing lap, and you'd arch your back over the curve of my belly. I'd try to push you to my side and have you drape your legs over mine. Eventually, you'd just whisper, "I'm ready for my bunk bed," which was kind of a relief for me when neither of us could get comfortable. Then, shortly after I came home from the hospital, I rocked with you in the glider without a big belly, and I teared up as you finally, finally made yourself comfy cozy on my lap. We just stared at each other in the dark light, only lit by the light coming from the playroom. We smiled at each other, and I felt like we were finally back to our old cozy cuddle. That night was one of the last nights I rocked you. Later that week, we separated the bunk beds and took the glider out of your bedroom. I no longer rock you to sleep. I might lay with you from time to time in your bed that no longer has a "roof" above it. And tonight, I sat on your bed, and I held your hand as I swayed back and forth with Knox in my lap, and again, I teared up that 2 and a half years of rocking you has come to an end. You are such a big boy now, but even though that glider is out of your room, it doesn't mean our cuddles have to end. I'm here to rock you anytime you want, and I hope you'll let me rock and cuddle you for years and years to come!

You have such a big personality, Quinn, and I have so enjoyed watching you grow into that personality! I love you more than you could ever possibly know.

Happy Half-Birthday, My Love!
I love you!
Love,
Mommy