Quinn is Getting so Big!

Quinn turns 18 months and starts Nursery class at church in two days.

So Quinn has started doing all kinds of new things. I never want to forget them. Here is her 18 month update:

Today she found her one Elmo DVD in a pile of Daddy's stuff. She brought it to me and then went over to the TV to try to put it in the stereo since we do not have a DVD player attached to our TV. I put the DVD between two books and started a Tivo'd episode of Sesame Street. She was happy about that.

This morning she was eating a piece of peanut butter toast, but she wanted to be all done eating in her chair and eat the rest of the piece while walking around the house. Well, that is not allowed, so she sat stubbornly in the chair for another half an hour. At one point she was giving me signs that she wanted me to wash her hands. She had the toast in one hand so I washed the other hand. She looked at the clean hand in delight, put the toast in it and handed me the other dirty hand. What could have gone on for hours because it was a very thick spread of peanut butter toast and she was determined to hold it and have clean hands at the same time.

While riding in the car, she makes herself very clear that she wants to listen to music. Yes, ma'am. Will Chris Merritt do the trick?

She has standard to make her opinion clear that she does not like to wear clothes. She often wakes up with no pants on and has a melt down when it is time to put pants on and get ready for the day. After several attempts this morning, I finally just pinned her down and dressed her. She was much nicer after that and even showed me there her shoes were hiding. Not sure what to do about that, but I'll just roll with it.

Of all the foods she has eaten, she has been most consistent with carrots -- she hates them. Since March at least.

She eats bananas whole just like a big kid with the peel hanging down.

She took her first shower the other day. She always takes her baths with daddy, and then she hangs out while he takes a shower at the end of the bath. But this week he set up one of the faucets as a Quinn sized shower, and she totally walked into it and showered.

She is very interested in microphones. But that is a world she will not be able to experiment with at our house. Maybe I should get her an 80's tape player and mini microphone.

Elmo's world always ends the same way. Elmo gathers around the piano with all the stuff and people who have helped him learn that day, and together they sing the "Book" or "Sing" or "Weather" song depending on the theme that day. So if the theme was books then Elmo plays jingle bells on the piano and says the word book for all the lyrics in the song. Anyway, Quinn anticipates this part of the show, and when she thinks it is about time she climbs up on to our piano and waits. When Elmo starts to play, she starts to play. It is great.

Quinn's pretty good about throwing trash away. If I hand her something and say, "Go put that in the trash can" she is on board. The first time she ever put something in the trash it was a bottle, but we broke that habit pretty fast. Now I can say, "All done? Go put your bottle/plate/cup in the sink." She needs some reminding on the way over, but she can do it.

Last night I had the new base player pick up a Pack N Play for me at Wal-Mart because we have never had one. Quinn needed to take one with her to the baby sitter today. When I woke up, I decided to crack it open and make sure everything worked. I got really excited about it, and Quinn followed suit. She gestured that she wanted to get in. I put her in it in the middle of the living room with all her sleeping things. I told her I wanted to take a picture, and she totally understand that she was supposed to test the new crib out. She laid down and giggled and even pretended to sleep. Normally when I pull my camera out, she stops what she is doing and goes for it. But today she understood and she just went with it. I loved it.

Earlier this week, Quinn was watching TV with Tim. He was sitting at the edge of the couch, and she crawled up and straddle him from behind. She just sat there even through she couldn't see. She thought it was funny, so every now and then she would laugh or peek her head around and say hi to him. She's done it to me a few times too.

When it is time for bed, we have a pretty specific routine. Unless she is really tired, we tell her it is bed time and say good night to all kinds of people and things. I place her on her back with her poodle, passey and blanket on top of her handmade poodle blanket from Kate Mac designs, and we cover her up with a Kate Mac designs knock off that was make by Quinn's aunts. I say a prayer over her, and when she picks up on what I am doing, she rolls towards me and folds her arms. When I say, "Amen", she rolls over onto her side and is out like a light. On rough days, we turn on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on our wait out the door, and we don't hear from Quinny until 4 at the earliest.

She seems to love running around and being chased. And if we are on a bed or a trampoline, she loves to be pushed and grabbed. She laughs so hard. I recently recently at a yoga class where they asked us to think of a moment of perfect happiness. I thought of Quinn laughing on a trampoline with me in Heber the week before. I was shocked at how my body relaxed immediately. Now what is some effect.

She does not need bottles anymore. She only takes one a day. It is at 6 a.m., and I give it to her so I can sleep in. Yesterday we had a baby at our house for a few hours. He had a bottle, and he left about 2 oz. in it. Quinn kept bring him the bottle and looking at him like he was crazy for not wanting the rest. She knew it wasn't hers, but after about a hour, I found her hidden in the corner downing the milk. Smart girl. She handed me the bottle with the look of, "A person only has so much self control, mom."

Quinn is passionate about grapes and horses, but she is not a big fan of thunder. We were on a walk a few days ago when we heard some thunder. She grabbed my leg and asked (with her hands and grunts) if she could get in her stroller and not walk anymore. She also doesn't like the thunder when Count Von Count counts on Sesame Street. Much to my great sadness.

She is OK with hair clips, but hair bows get thrown out the window.

Her feet are too fat for MOST shoes. She's been wearing fake crocs for months. Size seven regular Mary Janes leave marks on the top of her feet. Remember the part where she is only 18 months old. Dear me. No one in my family was blessed with desirable feet.

Quinn is still very passionate about her favorite pink poodle. She also has a grey poodle from Ikea that she sleeps with and carries around. She thinks her other poodles are fun, but they are fun to play with not sleep with. Since she quit the bottle, her passion for her favorite poodles has gotten much stronger, and she throws big fits when I try to put them back in the crib before we leave the house or before mealtimes.

Well, that is 18 months. Ups, downs and all arounds. I'm sure things will get much worse and much better. What an adventure. Happy 18 months, baby girl.

Now that she is 18 months, Quinn starts nursery at church this Sunday. After the first hour of church, we drop her off at nursery for the next two hours for playtime, singing time, class time and snack time. Some kids kind of freak out. We'll see how it goes. I think she is going to do great. I already picked out her first day of nursery outfit, and we did a test run with it last Sunday at Stake Conference. It is a blue jumper with a long sleeve white shirt and tights. I will post pictures because I think this nursery thing is a pretty giant deal. I might bawl my eyes out from now until then.