Dear Quinn,
It's been such a fun month of you being one-and-a-half! As we head closer to your second birthday, I am still in awe of how much love and happiness you exude, how much fun you bring to our family, and how affectionate and cuddly you are. I.LOVE.YOU so very much, and I thank God for bringing you to us, for giving me the joy of being your Mama, and for what a precious boy you are. At 19-months-old, you are a shy, sensitive boy. But, once you warm up to your surroundings, you are a hoot. You love to be tickled, chased, cuddled, laughed with, and have 100% of our attention. I'm pretty sure I've said all of these same things month after month since you were itty-bitty. But, more and more, you are coming out of your shell and finding confidence in your ability to be independent. You also LOVE your brother so much. Every morning, and after your nap, you basically do a roll-call - wanting to know where everyone is. "Daddy?" "MeeMee?" (Banner?), "Ma-Ma?" and depending on if we are at Grandma's or not, "MawMaw?" "Papa?" "Kiki?" "YeYi?" (Levi?) You love to explore new places, as long as Mommy or Daddy is close by. You would gladly follow Banner wherever he goes all day, but if he follows you - that's another story. When you have your mind on something or a direction you want to go, you do not want him getting in your way at all! You are constantly smiling - with a few adamant meltdowns, but you're typically easily redirected after we acknowledge what is upsetting you. The language barrier still seems to be just that, impeding our ability to know exactly what you want, but more and more that's going away as we all work together to figure out what you're trying to tell us.
What else have you been up to this month?
-Daddy and I surprised you and Banner by taking you to the circus a week and a half ago. You were mesmerized and observant of all the spectacles. But, perhaps both you and Banner were more excited about the light sabers and the snow cones than anything else. We also celebrated Grandma's, Nami's, and Uncle Brock's birthdays, and you attended your second Passover Seder. We also had so much fun at Caden K's birthday party, enjoyed a visit to Campbell Green rec center, got another haircut, had brunch with Uncle Marc, Aunt Debbi, and Natalie, enjoyed a Chuy's dinner with the Giffords, had a fun barbeque at Zaide & BeBe's, had a blast at Tot Shabbat, enjoyed special time with Brycen & Nami, and had a play date with Arielle.
-You tackled another ear infection (that Dr. B diagnosed at your
well check). You finished 10 days of an antibiotic and seemed to be much better for a while, but we will have a recheck next week - which is good because I'm not convinced it's gone - as you still tug on your ear and have a runny nose and cough. As long as we pay a lot of attention to you, you're happy, though.
-Your schedule looks a little like this: 7:10ish wake up, drink a
heaping sippy cup of milk (! - still considering this a victory after weeks in December of horrible weaning from a bottle, I'm still on a high that you love your sippy now; miracles happen, you know), barely eat breakfast, then you want snack all morning.... lunch around noon, nap around 1:30 and most days I have to wake you around 3:10-3:15 so you'll go to bed at night, endure a horrible witching hour from 5-6, dinner at 6:00, bath at 6:45, books and bed around 7:30. You still let me rock you to sleep, but more and more you are leaning for your bed and are more comfortable falling asleep in it (because you are getting to long for laying on Mommy's shoulder!).
-You're mostly in 18-24 month clothing, but those are slightly too big. You're kind of in between sizes. I'm considering moving you to a size 5 diaper because you've been seemingly bothered by your diaper lately (even though it looks like it fits).
-You have the very beginning of a bottom left molar pushing through. You still have 8 teeth, but no sign of the fourth bottom right..... one day. Or, maybe you're missing it altogether like Daddy.
-We're working on learning colors!
-We introduced nuts to your diet, but I can't get you to eat enough to figure out if you like them. You have had enough to know you aren't allergic - at least I think you've gotten enough. But, peanut butter texture isn't your thing, and Honey Nut Cheerios haven't been appreciated much yet. I've also tried a peanut butter granola bar, but you don't like granola on your tongue and spit it out. I also tried a glazed pecan, but you spit that out too!
-I haven't heard it as much in the last few days, but it's worth mentioning that you've had a unique speech issue pop up. You've started repeating the end sound of words, especially /k/ endings, like "nack-ck" (snack) or "milk-k" or "back-k." I've heard it in a few other ending sounds ("eat-t"), too. I'm hoping this has resolved; I'll let you know! :)
Yes, a pretty short update this month. Not a great deal has changed since last month - you're just more and more fun! You're more and more cuddly and affectionate, yet more and more independent and exploratory. I love your laugh and giggles, and your smile is contagious! You brighten the room with your exceptionally beautiful blue eyes and beaming grin. Quinn Redding, I love you so much!
Happy 19-months!
Love,
Ma-Ma (which may very well be "Mommy" next month since "Dada" has become "Daddy"... which makes me sad as this Ma-Ma/Dada phase ends!) :(
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| Being silly with Grandma on her birthday |
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| When I knew you might have an ear infection... |
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| You and Banner love trying to hold hands in the back seat of the car |
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| Loving your snow cone at the circus |
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| Little naked cherub |
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| at Hope Park last week |
