Mr. Fix-It

{background} usually, the DVD player stays on and we only turn off the TV. So, when O wants his movie, he turns on the TV and we hit play on the DVD player (not using the remote). Today, he had already watched 2 Baby Einstein videos, so I turned the DVD player off upstairs so that he wasn't even temped by the music that plays while waiting for you to hit play...

Hey Mama, did you know that my DVD isn't coming on? I mean, I get the TV on, but no movie? What gives?
Apparently, you are not as concerned about this as me. Let me just get on down here and see if I can't get Baby Einstein to turn on. Where is that awesome inch worm? I mean...do you not love the inch worm as much as me? I guess not...you are just sitting there with the camera while I try to get that cute little worm to inch across my screen....

Can't...quite....reach......

Okay....I got the right button (I think). Inch worm? Ya there?

Seriously? I think I pushed the right one....maybe the TV is off now.... Now...don't rush over here ma and lend me a hand. I got it. Just a sec....let me get up and try the TV....

still no picture. dang it. i can only think of one more thing to try....the remote... it works for dad downstairs....

This Time Last Year...

I can't beleive how little he was then and how big and grown up he is now!

Owen on 1/27/08.

Owen on 1/25/09.

Looking back at these....I am so ready for another baby! I love my Owen now, but I can't wait to hold another cuddly, squishy little 'un that stays in your arms for hours! I guess that's a darn good thing since I will have one come July ;-)

Playing at the Park

Today, the 3 Emames and Val ;-) met at the park with our kiddos to enjoy the sunny, warm, January day. Mimi's daughter and the other 2 kiddos Mimi keeps joined us. We had a great time! O spent most of the time running back and forth on a bridge behind the park. He is really working on picking up speed these days. Mr. P and Mr. N took turns running in front of him...inspiration for him to keep going ;-)

I finally moved on to Chapter 2 in the Photography Workshop book I am reading. It was about using depth of field ("dof") and creating a shorter dof using the mechanics of the camera. I learned so much in this one chapter. These words I am about to write--I didn't know how to use them properly yesterday ;-)

The assignment was to use the Aperture Priority setting on the camera and set it at f/4.0 or lower. The purpose is to highlight your main subject and make everything else in the photo blurry. I chose f/2.5 after playing around a bit for the pic below.

This is Owen chasing Parker...I thought this was a neat representation of the boys right now...I love both of their "little boy runs." So precious.

So, this is my Assignment 2 Photo (didn't take me nearly as long as Assignment 1--two posts below). What do you think?

Here's O with his "big boy walk". I caught him mid-stride and this is how the pic came out. Truly, he is still 100% toddler...it just happens to look like he is 15 in this photo. I can almost see what he will look like in 3 - 4 years in this shot.

This little diva is absolutely adorable and does so well hanging with the boys!

Kaitlyn stays with Mimi after school and is the sweetest little girl on the planet. I caught her climbing in the tree...she is quite the tom boy. Reminds me of me when I was her age!!!

Finally, a photo of O's snack time. If we didn't eat the ones that fell on the ground, there would be no snack. I just have to watch really close that he doesn't also take in rocks, bark, etc. Which, happens from time to time....

Good times!

silly, silly, silly

here are some funny things that Owen is doing these days. The clip includes his newest word: duck {cckkkk}, "talking" on the telephone {Grammie, now you can see why you can't hear him talking}, and reading to himself {not sure you can hear him, but he's reading out loud}. turn up your speakers and enjoy our boy {sorry 'bout the annoying parents in the foreground prompting the little guy to say things}.

Stream of Thought...

Last night I posted a photo that I said I was using for an assignment from a workshop I am doing. Well, since last night, I have had a breakthrough and wanted to share. Thank you, Erin, for listening today and confirming my *style*.

So...assignment one in the book I am reading/using/learning so much from was about finding your style: what motivates you? We were to strive for something unusual in a photo. I have really struggled with this darn assignment. Those of you who know me, know that I am a ridiculous perfectionist with everything I do, so I really wanted to accomplish this assignment -- even though there are no grades and completing it is just for me.

I posted last night what I thought I would consider my assignment one photo. But, I really wasn't happy with it. It was nice, but it wasn't what I envisioned as MY STYLE. I went to bed last night thinking more on this darn assignment -- I have been obsessing over this since last Thursday. See...I am ridiculous?!?!?

What is my motivation? I became interested in photography when my dad gave me his hand me down Nikon film camera 10 years ago. He is a great photog and used his work in books he has written. He taught me about composition in landscapes and we used to meet between Austin (where I lived) and Kilgore (where he lives) to shoot for a day. It was our time together and I got some great images. Those were great times.

Then, last year my dad gave me a Canon Rebel. He has added these incredible lenses to my collection--items I don't even begin to know how to use, but know they are capable of so much. And...I had a baby boy who I ADORE. Thus, I became inspired to use my Rebel and neat lenses to capture my son in this blog.

So, last night I thought.... what is my style? When Erin asked me to photograph her son a few months ago, what did I do? I thought about what did RIGHT THEN as a family -- and knew they take a family walk a couple times a week, pulling their son in the wagon, to feed the ducks. So, that was my suggestion for their shoot--let's do what you do all of the time. Document your "now" and hope that we get some moments where the 15 month old gets caught up in what he is doing and forgets about the crazy lady following them to the park with camera in hand. Hmmm.
Then, I thought, what are my favorite photos of Owen from last year? Answer....the ones where I just happened to capture a moment. A moment where he was experiencing something for the first time, exploring his world, or enjoying something about where he is. Those times where I am witness to his learning AND I have my camera handy are oh so rewarding.

Last, I remembered a quote that I have "tattooed" on my wall above my favorite four photos. It is "We do not remember days, we remember moments."

Now, I see a theme. I think what moves me is the moment. The every day, simple, moment. If I capture just the right one, I get a rush.

So...that is my "Ah Ha!" with assignment one in the book. I am going to just consider my "style" as documenting moments, feelings, and the joy of learning.

Here is my "revised" assignment one photo:

Phew. If you really read that--I am so sorry for going on and on. But, I felt like sharing. Thanks for listening.

This weekend we...

I started reading a new photography book on photographing children. At the end of each chapter, there is an assignment. So, we had a photo shoot on Saturday morning so that I could complete assignment one. Here is the product:

Also on Friday, Owen got to eat by himself with a spoon and bowl of pudding. I asked N's mom the other day when you finally get brave enough to try this!?!? N is an expert. I know he is 6 months older than O, so I am not comparing them, but I wondered when on earth you try. I finally just went for it.


Saturday morning...O gave Elmo a big, big hug! Little boy...big heart. Love him!

G.G., this is for you! I love the monkey outfit! Thanks for sending it! (and the place settings--mom said you wondered)! They were shipped to work and I received them last week!!! Thank you soooooo much!

Owen has turned over a new leaf. Instead of always knocking down blocks, he has started stacking them! Those of you who were here at Christmas and witnessed him getting down-right ticked off at Uncle Ben for stacking his blocks know what a big change this is!!

At Christmas, Uncle Ben kept building huge towers. Owen knocked them over 4 - 5 times, and then got completely fed up. He took the little wagon the blocks go in over to where the pesky towers were, threw them in the wagon one by one, and then pushed the wagon to the other side of the room where Ben couldn't reach it. That was the end of block building...for about 5 minutes. It was hilarious.

Now, this big boy is stacking them himself.

When do they stop growing so fast?

Yay! Owen got to...

hear the heartbeat of his new little brother or sister today! Yay!!!! Baby Q2 is due on July 12, 2009!!! We are all so excited about the new baby! My second trimester started Sunday and we visited the doctor today--all looks good. I go for my next sonogram on February 18th--but, like last time, we don't want to find out if it is a girl or boy. If Owen was a little older, I may be more tempted because I could "prepare" him for a brother or sister. But, he is too little to understand. So, we will all be surprised again!!

I am convinced it is a boy. My midwife even caught me referring to the baby as his little brother when talking to Owen during the exam today. I will be happy either way, but I do think it would be really neat to have two boys since they will be so close in age--only 18 months apart!

Aliza let Owen "talk" to Baby Q2. She held the Doppler up to his ear and told him to talk to his baby. It was so cute. His little face perked up and he really started listening for the baby to talk back to him. One day, Owen!!!

On another note, I had two very handsome dates for my birthday dinner last night! Sorry, Daddy Q and Jeff--not that you aren't handsome, too, but you aren't in my photo!!! Thanks, N and O for hanging out with me--Jeff, Erin, and Daddy, Q, too! And, happy b-day to N's dad, too!!!!

Lastly, for my b-day, my mom got me a Flip video camera. I took a couple of clips at Gymboree today to play with it. Would have gotten him on the equipment--but, that would be a little dangerous. So, you see O during the group activities that are on the floor and that don't require mom!! More fun video to come now that I know how to use this fun gadget--thank you Mom and Larry!!

In the first clip, they are pushing the log--Owen preferrs to do this on his own. He never sticks with the group for long, but on Friday's when we are at open gym, he pushes that darn thing back and forth and back and forth...can't get enough. Too crazy.

Enjoy the short "trial" video!!

Feeding the Ducks

Punkadoo was having a rough day today. He just seemed to have gotten up on the wrong side of the crib. Finally, around 2:00, I decided to get this little dude outside. He loves it out there, and I thought maybe he would sort himself out once we were out doors!We first drove to the park in our neighborhood, but it was too crowded for me and Punkadoo today. Instead, we went back home for some old bread for the ducks, and headed to the park by Mr. N's house--he and his family drove by and said hi while we were there ;-).

Owen insisted on carrying the bread himself--the whole way--he is so big now.

While we were feeding the ducks, the one goose charged us. It scared me (N's mom, I am now officially with you on being nervous around this goose). So, O and I retreated and watched from afar. He is looking out at them from the bench....so cute.

After feeding the ducks and charging goose, we meandered over to the play equipment. O found this stick along the way. It entertained him for quite a while.

Heading back to the car. I have to admit that I really like this pic.

My sweet boy after a big, big dinner and a nice bath. This was the first smile we got after the ones at the park!!

On another note, last night Stephanie babysat for O and she was able to put him to bed without a bottle. What a novel idea!!! So, I followed suit tonight, and he went straight to bed...sans bottle. Thanks for showing me that this is possible, Stevie. Tomorrow, I will drop the one I give him first thing in the morning--I really don't think he will miss that one. It was this last one of the night that I thought would take us weeks/months/years ;-) to give up!

Who Knew?

My cell phone got saturated in Owen's milk during our walk with Mom E and Mr. N yesterday. Finally, after 14 hours or so of having all of the pieces laid out to dry, it turned back on. But, the screen is water, ahem, milk-logged. Today, Jerry (a co-worker) suggested I stick it in rice for 24 - 48 hours. The rice should suck all of the moister out of my screen. So...I will try it....

On another note, here is Owen with his cake face from his actual birthday! After his special b-day dinner of Sockeye Salmon, sauteed green beans, and roasted tomato, he got round two of his b-day cake. This time, he didn't eat nearly as much--he really just played with it. Either he was full from his big dinner, or tired of cake from the day before. Still...a cute smile worth sharing...
Have a great rest of the week, y'all!

Owen is One Year Old Today

Owen Michael is one *oh-my-gosh-this-went-so-fast* year old today! The hat he is wearing in this installment of the scale photo says "Fun to be 1". So, cute! Not sure Owen agrees that it is, in fact, fun to be one yet. He seems pretty worn out from all of the events from the weekend, and really wants to eat another whole cake (he gets excited every time we pass the leftovers), and all of his company left...bye, bye G.A. Julie, Grammie, and Paw Paw Mc. He cried when Paw Paw Mc left--poor Owen.


Waking up One. This was Owen's first official photograph as a one year old. He slept in this morning so we missed his official birth time, but...the extra sleep was oh, so nice. As Grammie said, maybe sleeping past 6:45 is something new he will do as a one year old. Fingers crossed....tightly.

Playing out in the front yard with my one-year-old-sippy-cup-of-whole-milk!! Bye, bye bottle during the day! ...unless, of course, he gets fussy, can't get to sleep for a nap, or mom just feels like holding him with a bottle like we did when he was a *baby* (i.e. yesterday). sniff, sniff.

It is truly amazing to me how much change happens in just one year. In 365 days, Owen went from a squishy, squirmy newborn to a walking, talking toddler with oodles of personality. I honestly cannot believe how much babies change in their first year. I am so thankful that I have kept this blog, because it enables me to go back and remember the moments I very likely would otherwise have forgotten because it went by so darn fast!

This month, Owen has started working up his speed from a walk to a....faster walk. He isn't exactly running, but he sure is trying to move faster! He has also decided that he does, in fact, need to hold mama's hand to get down the front steps. That independent-ness of his takes a short break for getting down rigid steps -- I guess he finally decided that is better than falling.

He has begun to enjoy books a lot more. His current favorites are the ones that include different textures on each page to touch (thanks Richard and Niki for "That's Not my Train"....he loves it).

He has started really loving being outdoors...he spent an hour and a half at the park last Tuesday just wandering around looking at the leaves, grass, ducks, trees, kids, birds, and dogs. Today, he sat by the door and cried until I bundled him up and took him out.

Owen's vocab consists of about 7 definate, identifiable words: mama, dada, bye-bye, hey (he's informal like that), ball, ball-oon, and uh-oh. He talks a whole lot, but most of the time I am not sure what he is saying ;-) The funniest thing he started doing this week, is that he can pick up on when the end of my phone conversations is near and he starts saying bye-bye just before I hang up the phone. Also, whenever anyone heads toward the door -- bye-bye. Tonight, I was putting my "go-green" grocery bags away. He started saying bye-bye, and I wasn't sure why, then figured out, he knows I am going to the store with those bags. He is one smart little dude, if I do say so myself...and, I do. ;-)

It has definitely been a fun-filled year. I truly enjoy being Owen's mama. He has much energy, many smiles, lots of kisses, and makes every day more and more special.

Happy First Birthday, Punkadoo!!

Punkadoo's 1st Birthday Party

Today we held Owen's first birthday party!! O celebrated with his family, close one-year old friends, and friends-as-close-as-family! What a fun day!! Melanie Johnson came to take photos of the whole event--watch her blog for any she may post!! But, in the meantime, here are a few taken by Paw Paw Mc and me amidst the chaos!!!

His party was a balls and balloons theme--O's favorite things!!! And, the colors were shades of blue and red--my favorite at the moment.

The Birthday Boy--the Future England Captain himself (thank you for the shirt Great-Aunt Honor)!!

Balloon drop.

{you couldn't see the kiddos for all of the adults in this pic--Melanie was at a good angle, so hopefully, she got a few--but, this was the effect} Owen LOVED this so much. He kicked the balloons around the room for a bit (and for hours tonight) saying "Baaaaaaaallllll".
Party favors.

Mom and O's favorite part...The Cake.

Mmmmmmm....Fun to Be 1!

I saw an idea in a magazine to start a Birthday Chair custom. It is popular in Lithuania and Holland--there the chairs are decorated by friends and family. In our version, I visited at least 5 stores and 25 websites in search for the perfect "birthday chair"--found one at an unpainted furniture store--found a friend to paint it (thank you so, so, so much Megan)--and O had a chair. We designated 12 areas for those friends and family who celebrate with O at his first - twelfth parties to sign. The bottom is designated for messages from mama and dada. And, voila--Owen's Birthday Chair.

The seat. -- it is really, really awesome! The photo is a little blurry at the bottom, but you get the idea...it says "Owen's Birthday Chair" on the platter.

1st Birthday signatures.

I don't have any shots of him opening gifts, but the highlight was the truck from Grandma Chips from England--complete with Cheerios in the back. O had to take a cereal break from opening to munch a bit. Everyone got a kick out of that! Other cool ones are the bouncing zebra that G.A. Julie brought him and the Bee Bop Band from Emma (he LOVES the drum sticks).

Saying bye-bye to his friends (photo is blurred, but this was too cute not to share). When his last guest left (Miss Eva), O stood at the window waving her off and saying bye-bye.

Happy first birthday party, my sweet boy!!

Happy New Year

I hope you run on in to 2009 with as much gusto and energy as our almost-one-year old!!

Best wishes for a fun-filled year!

The Quinlan Family