Lovely weekend

We spent this weekend in Texas with my parents. We flew down on Friday morning and flew back Sunday evening. The goals for the weekend were to eat too much, watch the baby crawl around on the floor, and take the boat out on the lake. Goals accomplished.

This is the first time we've been there since Quint got really mobile and he was all over the place. Lots of new toys to explore, a slippery tile floor to play on, two friendly dogs, two grandparents, one aunt and lots of snacks he probably shouldn't have. Quint would crawl over to the tile floor, crawl a little way, and then obviously slide is legs out flat and swing his torso back and forth across the smoothness. Lots of baby giggles.

Maggie, the Boston Terrier puppy pictured, really loved to try to lick Quint on the mouth. This can come as quite a shock when the puppy loped across the room to deliver a kiss. But the first time I told Quint he could push the puppy away (and demonstrated) he started defending his mouth. Maggie had to spend a lot of time outside due to the excessive kissing. Heidi, the Boston Terrier matron, tried to get Quint to throw the ball for her. If anyone else only threw the ball 18 inches, she would look at us like "really? That's all you've got?" But when Quint thought and thought and thought and then managed to throw the ball 18 inches, she would dive for it as if it were a real challenge. Quint had fun crawling around in a huge circle and finding people in different rooms of the house.


Out on the lake, we put him in his blue speedo outfit while the boat was moving. It takes 3 people to get him into or out of that thing when it's wet so we all got our exercise.

Check out my hotness, horribly bent hat, psoriasis, and ecstatic baby!

The biggest hit of the lake was this thingy.


Quint absolutely loved it! It could hold up his whole weight and there was no way that he could get out of it. He could still splash the water between the two dark blue rings, and he could kick his feet like mad. He kept doing this both feet together kick thing as if he were a merman. We could pass him from one person to another and he just loved it. It cost about $17 at Walgreens and was Soooooo worth it. It deflates and folds to the size of a dinner plate. It only takes about 2 or 3 minutes of blowing to blot it up. He was secure enough that I took my life jacket back off and just played in the lake like normal.

Late that night, we scrubbed and filled the blue baby pool on the porch and gave Quint his bath there. It was fun! And then he smelled like a million bucks. He was very good about naps and when we put him down, he would just konk right out. Very handy.

Several times during the weekend, I would look around at everyone. Four adults watching a baby play on the floor with bright, goofy smiles on their faces. I wanted to get that in a picture, but it's hard to capture 4 people standing in a 20 foot circle. There were many hours where I can't tell you what we did, but time was spent on the floor with toys and silly, repetitive phrases like "but no" and "you got it" and "throw it" and "you do it." Lots of good video clips of Quint giggling with people. And for once, the little chime when I turn on the camera didn't make Quint stop what he was doing. At home, when he's doing something cute and I turn on the camera, he looks around and makes a B-line for the camera so he can slobber on it. At my folks house, he was having so much fun that he didn't hear the chime and would just continue what he was doing.

Spectacular visit! Even though it was August in Texas.

The flight home was another story for another time

Weekend and Milestones

We took our first plane trip with Quint this weekend and the travel part went pretty well! The weekend was great! We hung around my parents house eating and playing and eating and swimming and eating and porch sitting and eating and visiting and.... you get the picture. We gained some weight, didn't get sunburned, and I only had a stomach ache one night due to too much junk food.

An extraordinary number of firsts happened for little Quint in the last 7 days.
Here's the short list which I will expound upon:
Tuesday, June 8th, Quint started crawling - backward only. So he'd run into furniture or walls and be really ticked off that he was not where he wanted to be and couldn't go further.
Wednesday, June 9th, Quint learned how to go from laying to sitting.

Thursday, June 10th, Quint took his first plane trip.

Friday, June 11th, Quint learned how to crawl forward. He also first met an uncle and a cousin. Who shall remain nameless for the privacy of everyone of the whole planet. (Ahem - Hubby!)

Friday, June 11th, Quint took his first dip in the lake - with lifejacket. He also learned that he could keep himself awake at night by sitting up in his pack and play at night.

Saturday, June 12th, Quint met his great-grandmother, from whom he gets plump cheeks. We also learned that swaddling doesn't keep Quint from sitting up in his pack and play at night and keeping himself awake.

Sunday, June 13th, Quint had his first trip to the lake, on the boat, with a lifejacket. We learned to do our best not to feel guilty for letting him take a really long time to fall asleep because he's sitting up and whimpering.

Monday, June 14th, Quint not only was sitting up in his crib when I went to check on him after 15 minutes. He was standing in his crib. And we haven't lowered the mattress yet. Scary!

Expansion of milestones:
Laying to sitting: Quint has, for some time, been able to go from sitting to standing, and even from standing to sitting (as long as I say "sit"). He has even been going from sitting to leaning, to walking out with his arms and then belly flopping and then being ticked off that he doesn't know what to do from there. I would call from across the room, "Quint, roll over" and his brows would un-furrow, and he'd roll over and be content to play on his back. He has now figured out how to reverse that process. He goes from on his back, to belly, to tucking one foot under him, walking his hands back, and he's sitting!

First plane trip: Wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it could be (namely crying loudly the duration of the flight) nor was it as wonderful as my wildest dreams could concoct (namely nursing and sleeping the entire time). In reality, it was a bother logistically with two extra wheely things, one of which can never be left alone for a second. We had an umbrella stroller and Quint's rolly bag. We have got to get new luggage. Ours is 14 years old, definitely showing its' wear, and they make those suckers with bigger wheels now. I saw a guy roll by with three graduated suitcases, all strapped together, being wheeled with one hand. When he tipped them all back, they would all reach the ground at the same time. It was beautiful!

Anyway, back to the flight. We had a direct flight which meant not having to change planes, but having to arrive at 11:30, 90 minutes from my parent's house. Quint slept for a great deal of the flight, nursed willingly at take off and landing, and charmed everyone in sight! I even heard someone comment on "what a good baby" after our return flight. We didn't even have to pass out the 12 pairs of earplugs we took for our fellow passengers! Out of the first 2 hour flight, he probably only cried for about 4-6 minutes total! During the second flight, he probably cried for about 10 minutes total. Not bad at all!

Crawling forward: One the floor, mid-morning at his Nannie's house, Quint crawled toward a forbidden object - the dog's slobbery toy! We even caught it the second time on film with Grandpa smiling and cheering too! And here I thought the first crawling would be toward a forbidden buttony item like a phone or a remote control. Shows what I know! At home tonight, I had to keep reminding myself to go make sure he was still in the general area that I left him. Panicky thought at one point tonight - I had left him playing in his ultra-safe bedroom but it occurred to me that he COULD HAVE CRAWLED 30 FEET TO THE TOP OF THE STAIRS!!! I bolted upstairs to find him 18 inches from where I left him...

Wow - I gotta finish the long versions of these stories tomorrow. I gotta hit the hay...