Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Real big with the Amish

Capt. Quinn and Mommy are back from their trip to Pittsburgh, and the results are in.

Quinn's a hit with the horse-and-buggy crowd.

Yes, our little hero was a tiny celebrity with the nice Amish folk that live near Grandma and Grandpa Smith. The rest of Mommy's family and friends also rated him "four stars" in unofficial polling.

Even little Emma -- she who belongs to Aunt Penny -- found Quinn exciting. She also apparently thought he was a girl. But that happens sometimes. Right?

The wee captain also proved to be a decent traveler. But the real rewards go to Mommy for enduring the challenge.

Here's a few of Quinn's Greatest Hits from Pennsylvania

Hangin' with Great-grandpa Crissman:










Hangin' with Great-grandma Crissman:










Hangin' with his hand:











Hangin' in the sink:










Hangin' curveball:


Sunday, January 21, 2007

Bachin' it.

Back when Daddy was a little fella, and Grandma Siemers would go off to work, Grandpa Siemers would say we were "bachin' it." As in, a coupla guys in temporary bachelorhood. You know, "bachin' it."

Well, I'm bachin' it. With Dexie the Wonderdog at my side.

The wee Cap'n Quinn and Mommy have flown the friendly skies back to Pittsburgh to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Already our little hero has shown his almighty fussiness to much of Mommy's family, many of which offered their own theories on why he's so adept at showing his almighty fussiness.

Nonetheless, it will be a good trip for Mommy and Quinn. Daddy, however, who was, admittedly, looking forward to a few days on his own, misses Mommy and the wee captain already. Sure, Dexie is good company. Great company, actually. She never leaves Daddy's side. But the house seems too empty without a fussy baby within crying distance.

I should have recorded him before he left.

We found out this week that little man has surpassed the 10 pound mark in weight. And, as you can see from the picture above, he's becoming a little man o' the world. In this photo, Quinn shows his leisurely side as he lounges in his hot tub. ("Excuse me sir, but where is that mojito I ordered?") It's what Daddy calls the 7 o'clock bath. You remember the 7 o'clock bath, right?

You should try it. It's way more fun than "bachin' it" with your dog.

Today's picture (which is actually a week or so old) I call, "Green makes me sleepy":

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Happy Two-Monthday!

It's our wee little man's two month birthday today. Not that we'll get in the habit of celebrating all these increments, but this one is particularily noteworthy for several reasons.

For starters, the dude's getting huge. Just look at the pictures to the right, a comparison of him on his first month birthday and from this morning.

Tired of getting kicked around at the beach? Want to be a lean, mean muscle machine? Then we've got the diet for you. Try lactose-free infant formula, 4.5 ozs. every three hours. Look what it did for Quinn! He can lift his own head AND!!! flip himself around onto his stomach. Nobody's kicking sand in his face!

Yes, the good captain now looks big enough to lead a gang of street thugs. Or at least play one in West Side Story or Grease or The Outsiders. You get the point (Star Quality!!).

Along with his growing girth, Capt. Quinn has reached some other milestones. On Saturday, during Tummy Time© -- You remember Tummy Time©, right? -- Quinn, while remarkably fussy, was able to turn himself over from his stomach to his back. It was an amazing feat of strength, on par with lifting the Empire State Building or Daddy hoisting all the grocery bags from the car in only one trip. On varying degrees of scale, naturally.

Our little hero is also learning the fine art of slumber. After taking a long, luxurious nap -- You remember the long, luxurious nap, right? -- Quinn played a while before going back to bed at 9 p.m. He didn't wake until ... wait for it ... 4 a.m.! (This is where you hear the chorus of angels ringing down from Heaven. -- You remember the chorus of angels... oh forget it.) This is the little dude's longest one-time increment of sleep since his arrival two months ago today. Here's to hoping it wasn't a fluke.

Today we're off to the aquarium with Uncle Dwight, Aunt Carmen and Cousin Axel -- also known as the East Albuquerque Annex of the Smith Clan.

It should be fun. I just hope our muscular little man doesn't scare the sharks.

Today's picture I call, "Dexie clean and shorn":

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

This burrito is spicy

You know how they say miracles come in small packages?

Ours came in the mail.

It's called the "Miracle Blanket," and it turns our wee little captain into a wee little burrito.

The Miracle Blanket is a baby straight-jacket. More kindly put, it swaddles him better than Mommy or Daddy can. Our little hero doesn't like it much. He'd rather have his arms free, ready to fend off any evil-doers that may find their way into his crib at night. But, little does he know, those arms are also his worst enemy -- his arch-nemeses, flailing about so much that they keep him up all night.

Now, with the Miracle Blanket, he actually sleeps more than 20 minutes at a time. On a good night, we'll get four hours of sleep before he wakes up for his middle-of-the-night feeding. He's still fussy. But he's a fussy little man that sleeps more. Which is better than the alternative.

Today we visited a potential daycare provider. So far, so good. It's a little out of the way, but, despite that, it seems like an ideal situation. It's less a daycare than it is a babysitter-for-rent. But that's what we need for the one day a week where we can't be home with him.

Though it may be hard to tell by the pictures, the good captain is getting bigger every day. He's growing out of his clothes, which is to be expected. Tonight, during his 7 p.m. bath -- you know the 7 p.m. bath, right? -- we noticed that he's almost outgrown the sink. He's gone from a tiny turtle in a terrarium to King Kong in a birdcage.

Or something like that.

He's our little miracle. In a package that's not so small anymore.

Today's picture I call, "Cute babyyyyzzzzzzzzzz........(snore)"



Monday, January 01, 2007

The cute and the restless

It's a new year here at the New Mexico branch of the Siemers family, and the wee Capt. Quinn has some new food.

The lactose free milk is working wonders so far, and Quinn isn't fighting nearly as hard to avoid restful slumber. And he's getting cuter than ever, as the picture to the right proves.

Meanwhile, Dexie the Wonderdog is lobbying for a move to the Arctic, having fallen in love with our unexpected allocation of snow.

The video below should speak for itself. I call it, "Why do those white balls disappear?":