Just the Highlights, Mam.

Daddy Q and I took the boys out to feed the swan and geese tonight...the geese were nowhere to be found; so, the swan plus 4 ducks got lots and lots of bread!

There are soccer fields right next to the pond where we went. A girls soccer game was underway; Daddy Q and Liam were really interested in it. Owen had more fun throwing leaves, rocks, and sticks into the water to watch the ripples. After the girls game finished, Owen and Daddy Q took the field.

They were playing while I snapped photos...I am hoping to get some cute ones of Owen playing sports for his sports-themed big boy room. What I got, were a lot of him being frustrated. It got me thinking more about something I have thought about fairly often recently...

You see, I read a lot of blogs. Some of them are by people I know in real life...some of them are not. When I read the blogs of others, I find myself thinking how lucky they are that their kids always smile / they seem to always do really fun things with their kids / their babies seem never to cry / the moms sound so together and have lots to blog about /etc. etc. etc.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized they may be doing the same thing as me....posting the highlights of the day. I know what its really like here in the Quinlan household...it's not picture perfect all day everyday...that's for sure. But, when I go to post on the blog, I use the pictures of smiling, happy kids and delete the reminders of tantrums or spit up. I am drawn to the images where the kids are having fun--I leave out those when they got frustrated with what they were doing at the time (unless, of course, it turned out cute in spite of frustration levels). You see...a picture like this:

...is usually deleted.

What's going on here, you ask? Well...let me tell you. Sometimes Owen will play ball with you (football, baseball, soccer, etc.) using traditional skills and concepts that we all know and can pick up on. But sometimes, Owen has a certain "thing" he wants to do. His "thing" can arise from a game you once played with him many moons ago (something you really and truly don't remember), or from something that someone did with him when you weren't around to watch, or from something he just gets in his little almost-two-year-old-head. When that happens, you better figure out what he wants or else....its his way or the highway.

The image above is Owen telling Daddy Q where to stand and what to do and his face shows just how angry he is starting to get because Daddy Q isn't figuring out *his* game. We were both stumped; but, Daddy Q and Owen got it worked out....Owen showed him what he wanted--here's how.

Once Daddy Q was standing where Owen wanted him (which was behind the goal facing toward the field), Owen wanted "up". From Daddy's arms, he threw the ball over the goal. He then looked at GQ, like...see? Then he got down, walked around the goal, got the ball, gave it back to GQ, and then went and stood where the ball had gone when Owen threw it and told him to "go". He wanted Gerard to throw the ball OVER the goal to Owen on the other side. Seriously? Who plays soccer like that?

Gerard asked me what they were teaching him in SoccerTots. Ha Ha!

Littlest Man in the House was loving his carrots tonight!!!

See?

He loved them so much, they made him wild-eyed!

To my family, thank you all so much for the fun Halloween cards--the boys enjoyed them all! Owen has had a blast with these glasses of Liam's that G. A. Julie sent. He puts them on Babis, Dada, Momma, Bubba, Kacki, and on the stairs....every*one* gets to wear the glasses for a few seconds and he starts over. Fun times.

Halloween 2009

If you had asked me before I had children if I thought that a 22 month old leads a busy social life, I would have laughed and said "no." Fast forward to this week...I now know better. Phew. What a fun Halloween week we have had, even though we did miss a few planned activities along the way!

Last Saturday, before I got really sick with a 24 hour thing, we carved a pumpkin. Pa and I took Owen out to the front yard to pick one... he tried with all of his 22 month old might to lift this pumpkin; but, then settled for one closer to the front door.

Cleaning it out - Pa and Liam watching.

Liam and the Pumpkin...which is bigger?

The final product - Pumpkin Elmo. Now, Owen calls all Jack O Lanterns "Elmo." Sigh.

Owen's MDO class had a Halloween party on Thursday. I didn't know if I could get him to wear his actual costume twice and I knew that Liam's costume I made wouldn't hold up in the wash (and I really wanted to dress him up for Owen's party...not necessary, I know, but I wanted to). So, the boys went as Aggie Yell Leaders thanks to Grammie. Weren't they cute?

Halloween morning. If you had asked me six months ago if I would dress my boys in matching outfits...I would have said "no." Do I? You bet...every chance I get. Whoddathunk.

Drumroll, please. Here are the Halloween 2009 costumes! Owen the Footballer and Liam the NFL Ref!
Liam watching the play action.

Owen....irritated with a call the Ref made.

Owen wanting to play....any sport will do.

Noble the Fireman! Cute...but, couldn't top last year's rodeo clown. Some costumes are just "un-toppable".

The whole gang heading out to trick or treat. Skylar the Cowboy Cheerleader, AJ the Cowboy, Noble the Fireman, Liam the Ref, Owen the football player, Emma the Tinkerbell, and Parker the Engineer.

Owen's very first trick or treat house. He didn't want to leave. And, why would he? The nice lady was giving him candy.

Funniest parts of the night:

1. Skyler running into some one's house.

2. Owen asking Emma "Want to Dance?" after everyone else had gone. Ha, ha. My little flirt.

Happy Halloween, All!

Our Babies' Scale Photos

My Sweet Baby Liam David's 4 month scale photo.

Little man is right about the same weight as what I measured for the three month scale photo--all that vomiting did him in this month. The Doc's official stats are:

13 pounds 12.5 ounces (29th %)

25 inches (54th %)

I sure hope I can grow some chub on this boy in the next month!!!

Owen was really interested in what Liam and I were doing. I asked him if he wanted to have his picture made on the scale. He seemed interested. I tried to put him on and he said "no, mommy" and then proceeded to place the car he was playing with on the scale. Next thing I knew...he sat right down next to it for the picture. So....here's the scale photo for Owen's baby.
Does that make you laugh out loud, too?

Happy Four Month Birthday, Liam

Liam is four months old today. FOUR months. Seriously, where is time going? Liam has got to be one of the sweetest babies on the planet. He loves people, loves attention, and gives such big smiles when he is getting both! But, when he is not, his little heart just breaks and little dude cries and cries. Woe is me in the mornings when I am getting Owen ready for the day and neither of us are entertaining little man.

I mentioned this to the doc...you know...just to find out if it is *normal* for a baby to cry so darn much when not being held. The convo went a little bit like this (it is very paraphrased and a little embellished...but, you'll get the idea):

Me: So....Liam's favorite person on Earth is his big brother, Owen. Owen stimulates him with toys, chatter, and just by running around. His second favorite person is me. He LOVES me talking to him, taking him everywhere I go, and bouncing him gently as he tries to fall asleep. A common occurance at the house right now is for Owen and Liam express their unhappiness with me ...you know ...for things like going to the bathroom or washing the dishes. Problem is...when neither Owen or I are engaging Liam...little man wails. Is there something I can do about that??

Doc: Its normal. A 4 month old is no longer a blob; but, a little person craving attention and stimulation. They have 2 ways to get it...smiling and crying. If you aren't looking at them...which way works? Crying. Unfortunately, sometimes that means they have to cry for a while, cause you have stuff to do.

Me: Oh. Darn.

Doc: Oh, and BTW...you can't spoil a baby. That's an old wives tale. So, just stimulate him as much as you want to keep him from crying. Just know that eventually, he'll have A.D.D.

Seriously...he did say that about A.D.D. It made me laugh out loud.

Liam is a champion sleeper. He and Owen go to bed at the same time now. One of my favorite things in the whole world to do is to rock them to sleep together. After bath, when they are all warm and smelly-goody, I snuggle them close in the rocker. Owen and I give Liam a bottle...yup...both of us. Owen will put his chubby little hand at the very end of it and help me hold it. He doesn't do this the whole time...but, its the effort and thought that's sweet. After the bottle, we pat Baby Liam for a good burp (and lately a lotta spit up...more on that in a moment). Owen patting his little brother's back moves me to tears some nights. Then, we sing and rock until Liam is asleep. Then, Liam goes to bed, Owen says "night, night, Babis" and Owen goes to his room and is asleep in no time. Can you put this in a bottle?

Liam has been vomiting about once every 48 hours since last Friday morning. No fun. His little tummy just wasn't right. Yesterday and today, he was fussy, fussy, fussy, too. After a chat with the doc...we got Liam on a supplement that, hopefully, will help level out his little tummy. Phew. Additionally, the Doc thinks getting this boy on some solid food will help. Amen to that! This Momma loves feeding the baby food. So fun!!!!!

So...tonight...Liam got his first taste of cereal via silver spoon (curtesy of Aunt Sucker...it was his Birth Day gift). Liam has been eyeing Owen's food for a couple of weeks now. So, tonight was his night. I set his high chair on the floor so Owen could help. We made a big ta-do.

Do you think he liked it?

Ummmm...not so much.

I think he had his sights set for the roast beef, potatoes, and carrots we were having.

We'll try again tomorrow.

My Two Boys...

...are keeping me too busy for blogging. Well, the two of them, plus a 24 hour stomach bug and a very busy social calendar (Owen's and mine--I can only imagine what will happen when Liam starts adding his own items).

Tractors, Beets House, and Aunt Sucker

Last Thursday, Owen, Liam, and I were beach-bound!! I picked up Owen from school and we headed to the airport. Sadly, we missed our flight, didn't make stand-by on the next one, and ended up hanging around Gate 7 for quite some time waiting on a flight that we could get confirmed on. Fortunately for me, I have two very good sports and we ended up having fun there at Gate 7!

Owen has started calling airplanes "tractors" and "boats." As we looked out of the window at Gate 7, every time a plane would take off or land, Owen would get so, so, so excited, dance in circles, and say "yay Tractor" or "yay Boat" or "see Tractor Mom" or "see Boat Mom." I asked him the difference between a boat and a tractor...no response.

Many of the business travelers there at Gate 7 commented on the big personality our little guy has. He really is a fun little dude to be around.

Once we landed, Lanie rescued us from the airport and we escaped to the Butler's Beach House. We met up with 4 families there--8 kids and 8 adults in total. Here is our weekend in photos:

Owen running from the waves and to his momma. Hanna commented to me that "Owen loves you too much." He is rather attached to me at the moment; but, I will take it while I can -- one day he will be a 13 year old boy that hardly acts like he knows me.

Jack feeding the birds.

Owen and McCall at breakfast.

Liam and Kate hanging out.

Owen playing in the sand...Liam swinging in the sun.

Liam hanging in the stroller while the older kids drew with sidewalk chalk.

Owen's favorite part...riding in the golf cart with Aunt Lanie.

Uh...can you say "flirt?" Looks like the little man on the left has completely forgotten about momma already...it didn't take 13 years ;-)

Me with Liam and Hanna.

Lanie and her niece.

Me with my Boys - Sunday's Sunrise.

Me and the boys, again.

After the beach, we headed to see my Aunt Julie. She got to meet Liam and to teach Owen how to trick or treat.

Out of all of the candy in the basket, Owen skipped all things chocolate and went for the suckers.
Grammie came and got us from Aunt Julie's and we hung out with her and Paw Paw Mc (whom Owen affectionately refers to as "Pa") that afternoon. At one point, they were showing a picture of Aunt Julie to Owen and asking him who she was. His reply..."Sucker." We all thought it was hysterical. We'll see if "Aunt Sucker" sticks as Julie's name ;-)

Five Things I Learned Today

1. When you are in the car with a hungry, fussy toddler and a too-hot corn dog, your air conditioner becomes your best-est friend.
2. It is possible to put a baby to sleep while a toddler is hitting you in the head with a 36 inch inflatable hammer.3. If the number of sippy cups your toddler uses has dwindled, look under the front seat in the car. It is amazing how many sippy cups can fit under one seat.

4. Mother's Day Out must have been named by a mom that a) had a toddler that didn't nap well, and b) didn't have a newborn at home that had to be wakened to pick the toddler up.

5. A smile from a newborn and a kiss blown across the room from a toddler can make even the foggiest day seem bright and sunny.

Just Some Random Stuff...

Liam is doing so much these days!!! He has started grabbing toys to explore them, he has found his hands and puts his fist in his mouth whenever he starts to get upset, and he has started kicking toys. The coolest thing he does, is that he can pull himself up from laying down to standing if I hold his hands and help guide him that way. He stands up for quite a while and just checks everything out.

concentrating on kicking the toy...
Owen likes Liam standing. He kicks the ball to him and then I help Liam kick it back (any of you who did Gymboree Play and Music Level II know what I'm talking about ;0). Owen also likes to have Liam jump with him. He thinks it is hilarious when I move Liam up and down while Owen is jumping. I have a feeling my house is going to get crazier and crazier. What do you think.

post-kick...he giggles while the rattle moves back and forth...

This morning before Owen went to school, he wanted to hold Liam. I snapped a few photos. I have a series of 10 or so and in at least 80% of them, they have matching expressions. Here is a sample. I think this is so funny...they really do look similar to me here.

really...the camera again, lady?

we're way too cool for this.

just hit us with your best flash.

Owen with the jack o lantern he picked for us to carve. Its in the garage and he says "bye, bye ack o turn" each time we leave the house.

Speaking of saying bye...the other day Owen was having Keebler Club Crackers and peanut butter for snack. He asked me who was on the back of the Keebler box. "Jerry Rice" I told him. He kept looking over at Jerry Rice and eating his crackers. After snack, I cleaned Owen's face and got him out of his chair. He looked back at the box and said "bye, bye Jerry Rice." I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard.

Owen got a new bicycle today. I have honestly never seen his face light up over a new toy like he did this. He has been obsessed with bikes and trikes ever since we got "Springtime Fun Elmo's World." Wow. He was so excited!! Hopefully he will ride it for a bit at the bike a thon on Thursday for his school ;-) If not, he can hop in someone else's wagon.

That's all I have for now.