Liam is two months, Papa has a birthday, and Owen is...well, just Owen.

Liam David turned 2 months old on Saturday!!!! He had his 2-month well visit today; and, we confirmed that this little boy has been growing. He weighed in at 12 pounds 6 ounces and is 23 inches long (exactly what Daddy Q and I guessed for his passport application on Saturday)! He is in the 49th percentile for height and 62nd for weight...yes, he is a little round ;-)

Liam is an emotional baby. I don't know any other way to put it. When he is mad...this boy is madder than a hornet. He lets you know that he is angry, angry, angry. But, when he is happy, he gives the biggest grin and will get to talking and cooing like we are having a real conversation. He will look me right in the eye and just about break out into a giggle. It is the darnedest thing how he can go from happy to mad and back to happy. But, man, those giggles and smiles sure do make this mama happy!

Little man is sleeping through the night for the last few nights. He must really be working on making this mama happy! I guess he figured out I appreciate my sleep ;-) He is up a lot during the day...more than I would ever guessed a newborn could be. He tends to take about 3 30-45 minute naps these days. Wow...entertaining a moody 2-month old does keep me busy!! But, Owen and I find things to do with him and it works. Dr. K says that this is just fine and is his normal. So....we will just go with the flow.

Sunday was Papa's birthday! The boys and I drove to Canton to meet Papa and Uncle Ben for a celebratory lunch! I had to wake Owen from his nap to come into the restaurant...so, he wasn't really in the mood to be social...much less to pose (and smile) for a photo...so, here is Liam with his Papa...

...then, we bribed Owen with a Nilla Wafer and scooted him on in....

...too bad we didn't wait to do pictures AFTER lunch. Owen became Papa's BFF over lunch...Papa's cheese enchiladas looked way yummier to Owen than his puffy taco and rice. So...Owen just helped himself to Papa's plate...

after lunch, Uncle Ben made Owen an ice cream cone, complete with a DQ swirl on top! That's another way to become BFF's with Owen, apparently!

The other day, I was looking through the blog to get a feel for what Owen was up to at 2 months old. While reading, I ran across this photo of Owen just after his shots at his 2 month check up.
So, I took a similar one of Liam...just so we can see if these two still look like twins.

Brothers...for sure. Does Liam look like a mini Owen? Not to me. I think their heads are shaped differently, they have different noses, and different lips. And...the definitely have different bodies...Liam is a lot less "thick" than his brother ;-)

This evening, at Owen's request, we headed to the park. Owen went to the door tonight and asked to "Go to Park?". So, I obliged. I like doing the things he asks...especially if it is a new word for him. On the way, we ran into Mimi and the little girl she keeps after school. Owen had so much fun playing with Kaitlyn again...its been awhile since he last saw her.

Owen has his first day of MDO tomorrow!!!

I hope I don't cry when I drop him off!

we don't cry over spilled milk....

Owen starts Mother's Day Out next Tuesday. He will attend class from 9-2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. His friends, Parker, Emma, and Skylar, are in his class. And, Noble is right next door. Today, was meet the teacher. It took a while for Owen to warm up...he is having some serious Mama Q Attachment these days...cried tonight when Daddy Q tried to take him into the backyard to play while I ate dinner...I had to go, too. Anyhow, his teacher, Miss Marina, was so tender and caring with him and was able to get him to interact with her after a bit of hanging around near him and trying to engage him ever so often. She seems so GREAT! Just the right kind of loving, kind, teacher for my firstborn!

Liam is really starting to focus on toys and try with all of his might to move them! This elephant has been in his sights for a week or so ;-) Today, was his first interaction with the balls that his brother loves so dearly! Owen gave him a round ball to "play" with when Liam was on his play mat today...Liam looked at it and eventually got his little hand over to it and hit it. Owen thought he was rolling it to him and rolled it back. This continued a couple of times....so cute! It was their first time to "play" together ;-)

There has been talk around our house of going to England so that Chips (or Chippy--she hasn't decided ;-) can meet Liam and visit with Owen. So....I am getting Liam ready to jet-set in case it happens {and, I hope it does--would be fun to make a trip over there with the boys before winter}. Chips, just say the word and these boys are on a plane to see you!! See, Liam even had his passport photos taken (by me!)!!

Daddy Q and I are filing the passport application today...he'll be ready to go in just 2 weeks or so!!!

And, last, Owen has been drinking out of a "big boy cup" at dinnertime {and sometimes at breakfast, or lunch, or snack--he asks for it a lot}.

He is really good at it!!

But, sometimes he loses control over the cup... like tonight...

but, that's okay. we don't cry over spilled milk in this house. we just learn a lesson from it {honey, when you tip your glass over all of the milk comes out of it and you don't have it to drink anymore so you will get very, very thirsty if you do that all of the time}, clean it up and move on. ;-)

have a good saturday! i am off to walk 13 miles with the Mommas for Mammos (my 3Day team)!

Bed Time

Daddy Q played tennis tonight, so I had both boys to bathe and get to bed. Liam was fussy off and on the whole time. When Owen got out of the bath {I'll digress for a second, because this is cute... Yesterday, I got Owen some letters and numbers that stick on the wall in the bathtub. He calls them all "2". He couldn't get out of the bath without as many "2s" as his little hands could carry. We battled with carrying all of those 2s during his night, night routine. The upside---he didn't want to put them down to brush his teeth}...so, I got to get in there and brush them really well for him ;-)....okay...back to the main story....when Owen got out of the bath, Liam was in the process of getting pretty tuned up. He was calm for a few minutes (long enough for teeth brushing and for Owen to get his diaper), and then started getting pretty angry.

Owen was very concerned, so I rocked Liam for a few minutes to calm him down and placed him in bed. Liam was still unhappy, but I needed to get Owen in jammies and bed so I could really tend to Liam...this is a constant battle I have when they both have needs at the same time...who wins mama time?!? rough stuff. Owen continued to be concerned and I told him that I would take care of his little brother just as soon as I could get Owen into bed. Owen looked up at me and then started walking out of the room....augh. He opened the doors in between his and Liam's rooms, marched on into Liam's room, put a handful of his 2s down, and then gently rocked the pack and play and said "bye baby." Oh. Now...that was just too sweet; but, I still had a crying baby. So, I reminded Owen that we needed to get him in bed so that mama could take care of Liam.

So, Owen sat for me to put on his jammies, gathered his 2s in both hands, walked to his room, asked for "bed" and stood at the foot of his big brother bed, and let me tuck him in.

I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him. I was walking out and he was beaming...had the biggest darn smile on his little face...I stopped for just a second to look at him again before turning out the lights and he smiled really big and just said "Bye, Mum."

I got the feeling that he wanted to be so big tonight so that I could take care of his little brother. Who knows what was really going on in his head, but that's what I think it was and it made me teary-eyed.

As for Liam, I scooped him up, took him downstairs, and loved him to sleep. That little 'un likes to be danced to sleep. He was snoozing peacefully himself about 20 minutes later.

Good night, all!

if the grocery store guy only knew...

We always visit the grocery store on Mondays. Because we have a routine, we often see the same employees. Pre-Liam, Owen atracted attention simply by saying "hi" and "bye" to everyone. Post-Liam...we are a sight to behold.

We walk in...Liam in the Baby Bjorn, the diaper bag draped over my shoulder, me holding Owen's hand, and Owen carrying the re-usable grocery sacks. Its like a mini-grocery store parade! Owen walks in like he owns the place and says hello to everyone. Then puts the sacks under the cart and lifts his arms for me to put him in his seat.

Well...yesterday, a grocery store guy ("GSG") who we always see and I had this conversation:

GSG: Mam, I sure do hope you take pictures of these boys. He {indicating Owen} is one of the cutest kids that walks in here.

Beaming Mom {that's me}: Oh, I can assure you I take plenty of pictures of them.

GSG: You know its a shame how few candid shots people take of their kids these days...I sure hope you are taking some of him.

Beaming Mom: what I thought was "If only he had my blog address he would get the humor of this conversation..." what i actually said was: "Yes, sir. I take as many as I can."

GSG: Good. Cause I think one day that one is going to be a movie star!

........ from his lips to Owen's college fund!

In other news...Owen's transition to the big brother bed is going very, very well! It looks like pretty soon, this little one can look forward to moving out of the pack and play and into the crib.... yippee! Liam was 8 weeks old yesterday. I can't get over how quickly time passes once the baby is born...seems the pregnancies last forEVER. But, the baby grows in no time flat.

Liam is smiling up a storm, cooing like crazy, crying like a mad man at times--he knows what he wants and how to get it stat--and working on holding his little head up so that he can watch his big brother dart and dash around him. He's even rolled over a time or two...strong little fella!

Owen has developed a new-found love of the moon. Paw Paw Mc (whom Owen is referring to simply as "Pa"--along with calling Grammie, "Mammie"--its like we live in the sticks or something) showed him the moon this weekend. Poor little guy doesn't quite understand why we cannot see it all of the time and, further, why he and Daddy Q couldn't walk there last night. Once he spotted it, he walked to Gerard with his arms spread wide so he could pick him up for a closer look.

"See moon?" he asks. Awww...so cute!

Here's six and a half minutes of the little guys in action. Ignore my commentary, it really is quite embarrassing. At the very beginning, I mean to say I didn't capture the baskets Owen MADE...not MISSED. In the middle, you see {again} me trying to get Owen to show off a new skill and his lack of willingness to do so. Watching it makes me laugh so hard that I cry. Enjoy watching Liam in all of his chubby goodness! His cheeks are priceless!!

Owen's Big Brother Bed

When it comes to raising my kiddos, I have lots of theories on how to do what and when. Mind you, I didn't come pre-wired with them...I am developing them as we go. So, when I decided before Liam was born that I did, in fact, want to use the crib that Owen currently slept in for the new baby, I found myself in need of a "transition to the big boy bed" theory.

From the moment I got a positive pregnancy test, I started subscribing to Parents magazine, Parenting -- The Early Years magazine, and Cookie magazine. Between these three subscriptions and all of the books that I have read on parenting (about sleep, discipline, raising "good" kids, etc.), I have just been soaking in the information until the time comes for me to do something with it {it goes without saying that the article I might have read when about toilet training didn't do me much good when I was only caring for 12 week old fetus ;-)}.

Well...I am now taking all of that info and coming up with my own thoughts on how to approach different phases. I am in overdrive at the moment given that I now have a busy, limit-testing toddler and a newborn that is a bit "less content" than his older brother was at the ripe ole age of 8 weeks old {yes...he is 8 weeks today...wow}.

So, here is what we are doing to get Owen out of the crib.

Since Owen has had so much change in his little life these days {he now has a stay-at-home-mom and doesn't see Mimi three times a week, a little brother that takes up attention Owen is used to having, and he is off to school next week}, I figure that I shouldn't also impose on him a "you-must-give-up-your-bed-that-you-know-and-love-to-your-baby-brother-cause-he-is-ready-for-it" change on him, too. So, we are making a three - four week transition to the new bed.

Yesterday was the big day. Other than the new bedding, I have left Owen's room just like it is. His crib is still there with the same bedding on it...same rug....same rocking chair...same books...etc. Well, i did change the curtains, but, otherwise...same everything. I haven't gotten any new furniture for the room...won't do that until he is really comfortable in the new bed. I want the room to stay pretty much the same. {...mind you....Owen really isn't a high maintainace kid. I probably don't need to go to this much effort to keep it all the same...I mean he slept in a pack & play in Mexico with a beach towel and not the beloved "khaki" that mom and dad accidentally left at home...but, I am going to this much effort anyway...I just want it to be easy for him...}

Anyway...the crib he knows and loves is still in there and available to him. But, the big bed is, too. Over the next 3-4 weeks, we'll put him to bed in the big bed. If he chooses to stay in it and sleep...great. If he comes out of his bedroom door, then we will put him to bed in his crib. If he asks for the crib at bedtime...then that's where he gets to go...no pressure whatsoever to sleep in the new bed. After a month, if he is in the new bed fairly often, then we will move the crib out. If not, then Liam will just get a new crib and Owen can keep his until he is ready to part ways with it.

Owen was a big part of putting the bedding on the bed with us. He came in and out of the room; at one point, he got on the quilt in the floor and pointed the balls, bats, and hats out to Grammie, Mack, Daddy, and me. When it was all put together, he posed for pictures {of course} and then we went on with our day.

At nighttime, Owen and I did his bath, got his jammies on, and then laid in what we are calling the "big brother bed" to read books. After reading a few, I asked if he was ready to sleep in his big brother bed. He said, "bed" and pointed to the crib. I put him in the crib and said good night. Usually he would lay right down. Not last night...he wanted to watch an Elmo video. Since it was about 45 minutes earlier than his usual bed time, I let him {eat ice cream with me and} watch Elmo.

Then, it really was time for bed. Daddy Q placed him in his big brother bed....we said good night, and Daddy sat outside the door to listen/wait. After about 10 minutes, Owen was pulling on the door handle. So, Daddy Q went in and put him in his crib and said goodnight.

This morning, the first thing Owen wanted to do when he woke, was to sit in his big brother bed with mom {he has quit calling me mama....}.

At nap time, I asked if he wanted to nap in his big brother bed...he said "Uh huh". So...I put him down to nap in it and walked out.

I could hear him talking..."See Bat." "See Ball." "Where's Bubba?" "See Football" {btw...this is a new word for him today--'til today every ball is a basketball or soccer ball}. I thought that for sure he was out of the bed just hanging out in his room and about to come out any minute. Then...it got quiet. It stayed quiet...very quiet. After about 45 minutes I HAD to go see where he was. I assumed I would find him on the floor asleep...but alas....

What a big boy.

"No" with gusto...

this week has been rough. owen has been a handful--to say the least. his word of the week was "no." unfortunately, it wasn't just a simple, and slightly annoying, "no." you know the one. a "no" that might be said in response to a question. or, to you directing a behavior. one you don't want to hear, but yet it isn't a huge deal -- you can live with it or just say "yes...we are doing___" and everyone moves on.

nope...not owen's "no". This boy said "NO" with gusto. Gusto accompanied by a mean-horrible-awful facial expression. it makes me cringe even to type about it. so...we stayed home a lot and tried to keep this mood under wraps. that...and I had to have a think on how on earth to make it STOP!

after getting ignored most of the day {cause that's how often I heard "no"...he even woke up from his naps saying it to himself in the room}. finally, yesterday, it seems things are turning around again. Owen is returning to his sweet, former self. and, we are having a lot of fun together to make sure he associates being sweet, happy, and nice with fun times.

I hope this Owen sticks around a while! He is still saying "no"; but, it isn't quite as rude. And, not quite as gusto-ish as earlier in the week. knock on wood.

Hopefully, that "phase" was a short one and doesn't come back to our house!!

In other news...

oh my gosh...he looks so grown up all of a sudden... {insert a tear from mom, here}. oh yeah...he has started calling me "mom" this week. no longer am I "mama"...just "mom". {another tear}.

...and his throwing arm is getting stronger and stronger ;-)
...and, I have confirmed that he becomes more like me every day. see how happy he is once he can enjoy the freedom of the road with a Sonic Happy Hour drink in hand?
and, last but certainly not least. in fact, it should have been first....

Liam has slept through the night 2 more times!!!! Yippee!!! I think he is happy about it, too!!!

Grammie and Mack are coming for the weekend!!!! Should be lots of fun!!

speaking of....

Sweet Liam. He is getting good and chubby! I just love a chubby baby. My theory is that chubby babies are happy babies; and, boy is this little one a happy dude these days.

speaking of chubby... is it a bad thing if Owen's favorite part of pool time is the snacks? probably would be if he didn't play hard enough to burn the calories... ;-) but, trust me, this boy definitely plays hard enough for it to be considered some serious exercise!!! speaking of exercise...Liam is truly a tummy time champ. this boy loves being on his tummy.

speaking of tummies...Owen's favorite part of Soccer Tots these days is getting a stamp. and, his favorite stamp is whichever Coach Kendra sticks on his tummy! He and his friends all seem to love this part best!
speaking of friends....Noble and Owen are the best of friends. As observed by Lara, Noble really is like an older brother to Owen. Owen follows him around calling "Bo-ble" over and over and over. They play so well together. At the end of park time last week, Owen went up to Noble and held out his hand for Noble to hold it. How incredibly cute is that!

speaking of cute...

{scroll back up and you'll see lots of cute!!!}

guess who slept through the night last night...

he slept from 10:30PM 'til 6:00AM ... what a big boy!!!

my home is messy enough to be happy...

My mom had a cross-stitch framed on the wall that said:

"My home is messy enough to be happy,

and clean enough to be healthy."

Or...maybe it was the other way around... Regardless, I am not sure that described her house quite as well as it does mine ;-) When I picture "home"...I remember the living room being spotless (i.e. toy-less), the kitchen sink always empty ('ner a stray, dirty dish to be washed}, and hours upon hours of bedroom cleaning by my brother and me (we both had trouble finding our closets, drawers, and shelves to put things away until being prompted by mom). 'Heck, even the garage always seemed to be well-swept. Maybe it wasn't always like that...but, that is how I remember it.

AND, then there is my house...

I didn't get a good picture of this...but, Owen wanted my ice cream cone. So, I gave it to him (what else is a mom with her hands full of a newborn to do...I can't get up to get him his own and don't want to risk a tantrum from a fragile toddler?). AND, what's worse is that I let him *enjoy* it in the house...

He enjoyed eating it. But, what he REALLY enjoyed was using it to create artwork on my kitchen counter and himself. Did you know that a drumstick, when squashed on the counter, leaves a really cool dot of cream that sometimes (if you lift it up just right) has the swirl on the top just like a DQ cone has? Owen really enjoyed making art on my counter with the ice cream.

He got pretty darn messy. When he was "done" with his ice cream -- there wasn't much left to eat after 10 minutes or so--we needed to clean this boy up. Oh man. The fragile newborn in my hands might give me 2 - 3 minutes to accomplish this. The fragile toddler might protest when I come after him with a bunch of wet paper towels. Should I remind you my house as been tantrum-central lately??? Crud.

I just had to dive in and get the job done. So...into the swing went Liam and into the sink went Owen. Yes, you read that right, I put my 19-month old son into the sink. I used the sprayer to clean the cream off his face and hands. He used it to rinse his feet!?!?!? And, then he picked up my dish-scrub brush and cleaned the sink for me.

sigh...at least I am teaching him to clean up after himself?!?!

Please excude the basket of clean, folded laundry awaiting my next trip up the stairs that appears in the background ;-)

some days are like this...

phew. i am so glad that both boys are finally in bed tonight. quiet. at long last.

last night, little 'un kept me up...a lot. I had logged about 3.5 hours of sleep when Owen started to stir--awake for the day at 7:30AM. thankfully, daddy q was able to stay home for a bit this morning so that i could sleep just a couple more hours. bliss.

then, just after daddy q left, liam woke. and, within about 10 minutes, this house was the noisiest on the block. one was crying...hungry, then just irritable and tired of not feeling good. the other 'un was crying that horrible i'm-a-toddler-and-i'm-gonna-make-myself-cry-even-though-it-isn't-coming-on-its-own. you know the one. the forced cry. the tantrum. the, "I want a cookie right now" cry. well, son, its 10AM AND your daddy already let you have one today. augh. it's gonna be a long day.

So, about 10:30 Liam was calm enough that I felt like he would do okay in the car. So, I loaded up the tantrum-throwing Owen, turned Elmo on the car DVD system (thank Jeep for that), placed Liam in the car seat and JUMPED in the car and practically PEELED out of the garage. Ah...quiet.
we ended up running errands in peace. Owen got a haircut, Liam's birth announcements got mailed, I dropped off a check request to the neighborhood mgmt company. then, i just drove for a bit and enjoyed the quiet (well...except that Elmo was singing and talking away...but, my children were quiet...that was what counted).

we pulled into the driveway just as Liam woke up...hungry and loud. I managed to get Owen down for a nap, but Liam was up for the long haul. so, we walked and walked and walked around. it was one of those days....one where Liam won't be put down even for a second.

then, evening came. Daddy Q came home early and witnessed first-hand the chaos that sometimes ensues while he is at work and/or out of town. For 5 1/5 hours he helped me manage the fragile toddler and irritated newborn.

then, once they were both in bed, daddy q asked me how I can do this every day. well...first of all, it isn't like this every day. only some days are like this. but, more importantly, i can do it just by getting:

a hug from owen that is so giant i can't help be erupt in a smile...

a smile from liam that is so sweet and innocent you know he feels your love....

a laugh from deep in my toddler's belly that makes me feel, well, funny and loved...

a moment when the light bulb turns on for owen and something i am trying to teach him gets through...

a nap with liam on the couch...

those moments, plus so many more, are what I think of when the chaos abounds. they get me through the rough spots and keep me sane. well...i'll be honest...the occasional trip to the spa helps, too (hint, hint, Daddy Q)!!

Aunt Dona...just for you, that was a picture of Owen taking care of the resurrected geraniums! Thank you for bringing life back into my front yard!!!!

just another monday...

well...hello from the crazy quinlan house. what a day. we really didn't do much...so, why am I so worn out? I'll introduce you to two reasons:
Meet Owen. 19 months going on 19 years. This little dude is busy, busy, busy. He knows exactly what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, how he wants to do it, and that he doesn't need help from mama. that creates a few meltdowns here and there...but, we get through them.

Meet Liam. He says "hi, I'm new here... been here six weeks today, in fact." This little one is either sleeping or starving! he wakes up and wants milk...stat. He has the most darling little smile that melts your heart...the converse of that is his wail. Wow!!! If you were anywhere near my house this evening from about 6:30 - 7:30...you know what I'm talking about!

***********

But really...it isn't that loud all of the time! The rest of the time is fun and games....

Games like this...

Owen is working on dribbling a basketball.

He is pretty good at it and can keep it going for 3-4 bounces.

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And, 'cause my family requested more of the boys in motion...another video. Here is a 3 1/2 minute look into our Monday.

Fun times I tell ya!