Ralph Cramden Meets a Horse

Quinn took mommy and daddy to the Washington County Fair yesterday. We made visits to all the animals in the barn. Quinn was very fond of all the goats, bunnies and chickens. He didn't care much for the miniature horse, especially when it snorted at him.

"Bye, bye," he said, waving his hand, gesturing for us to move along.

He did, however, enjoy the big horsey that the policemen were riding. He even got to pet them, and we learned the one with big blue eyes was called "Dakota." It had a white, furry mane that captured Quinn's attention.

Daddy made a point of saying that this was one of the rare times he likes police officers. Some other nice officers deputized Quinn, slapping a gold sticker of a lawman's badge on his chest, making him boss for the day. Then they gave him a blue balloon, which was all he wanted in the first place.

Its surprising they didn't ask him any questions. He looked like a bit of a drunkard in his funny hat.

But he wasn't causing any problems. Just creating a few laughs, like the Ralph Cramden look-a-like that he is.

He's got the moves

Here's something Quinn gets from his Mommy: The kid can dance.

There's rhythm in those little legs. Shimmy in those little hips. No matter the song, he'll start wiggling, shifting his arms left and right, bouncing up and down -- all in rhythm, all in sync.

Each morning, Mommy has the TV tuned to the local PBS channel. The moment the theme song to one show comes on -- a tune that goes something like, "It' s a big world .. it's a big, big world." -- our little Astaire drops everything and starts to boogie.

To him, it's not really a dance unless his elbows start swinging up to his ears. Otherwise, it's just a bounce.

His brain is already attuned to music. Often, Mommy and Daddy will sit near the computer, listening to snippets of the new music out that week on iTunes. Quinn joins us, bopping his head in rhythm while reading a book before bedtime.

This leads me to wonder something: In that picture above, is he calling an agent?











Munching on a corndog at Portland's Riverfront Blues Festival.












Enjoying his first fireworks show at Portland's Riverfront Park.












Petting a goat with Mommy at the Oregon Zoo.












Quinn is enjoying the polar bear. Daddy's giving a creepy smile.












Quinn and Daddy drive the vintage Range Rover at the Oregon Zoo.

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Keeping it cool

It's been hot here in Oregon, and it's taking a while to get used to being immersed in humidity again. But the good Cap'n Quinn found himself a nice spot to cool down the other day.

The funny thing about Quinn and fountains is that as much as he enjoys it, he really hates having water poured on his head. He spent as much time running away from the fountains as he did running in them. Still, we had a good time.

It turns out that living in an apartment has its constraints. There's less room for Quinn and his doggie, Dexie, to roam. There's no backyard and a lot of obstacles to trip over. But Quinn has found his own jungle gym, and it comes home every day around 6 p.m.

It's called the Daddy, and it's great for climbing.

First Quinn runs into the Daddy. Then he climbs on the Daddy. Then he sits his butt on the Daddy's face. Then he bounces on the Daddy. Then he launches himself off the Daddy. Then he gets tickled by the Daddy.

Then the Daddy gets tired.

Stay tuned for some more updates coming soon featuring Quinn's first taste of fireworks. Dexie gives them a thumbs (paws?) down.

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