I know you think I am nuts for suggesting that as she is only 2.5 months old. But she is starting to have a lot of saliva and drool a bit, has been very fussy during the day and it sometimes feels like she is gumming on me when nursing. There are times I think she wants to nurse, but she ends up gumming…

I hope not. I would much rather have two in diapers, then have two teething at the same time. I was really hoping that Tyler would be done before she got into the thick of it. Yikes!

I was taking Quinn upstairs and was holding her facing inwards so she was looking downstairs. As I was walking she turns her head upstairs to see where we are going. Two and a half months folks - I think that is pretty cool!!

What do you think? My Mom was a teacher and my good friend Susan is an elementary school teacher, so I have some idea what I am getting myself into. It would be great with the kids. My salary would be peanuts compared to the work involved, but if I am supplementing Chris’ salary and again, have the extra time with the kids - it would be worth it.

Oops - Chase just barked and woke up both kids… Tears all around - need to go and get the kiddos…

Alert and Observative
From early on Quinn was very alert and observative. She quickly began tracking people especially her Daddy and Tyler and observing her world. She is fussier in the sling then Tyler was. He was content to be facing my chest in the snuggle hold and would usually fall right to sleep. Not Miss Quinn - she wants to be facing out so she can watch the world and when she has had enough of the world, she will fall alseep. If she wakes up in the sling or starts to get fussy - I face her outwards and the problem is solved. I don’t think I had Tyler facing outwards until 5 or 6 months. She wants to see the world and not be shielded from it. This girl will not be sheltered!! :-p

Love/Hate Relationship with the Sling
For the most part, I think she likes it, but she puts up a fight some days when I put her in. She may fuss for a few minute and then pass out. Sometimes, I will think she wants to look around, so I will change her from facing inwards to outwards and she will pass right out. Some days she just wants out and wants milk.

Raspy Voice
Quinn has the cutest raspy little voice - I love it. Her coos and ahh’s are adorable especially when followed by her beautiful smile!

Nighttime Fussies!
I don’t want to say that Quinn is colicky, but she may have a touch of it. She tends to cry off and on most nights for verying lengths. I am usually upstairs trying to calm her while Chris gets Tyler to bed. Every night something different does the trick. She loves going outside and a walk usually works unless it is already dark. The outdoor lights and lamposts annoy her I think. Some nights she is in the sling and others she falls asleep facing outwards sitting in her Daddy’s arms sucking his thumb. Sometimes we get her down and she wakes up soon after. Even though it can be a pain to get her down, when she is FINALLY down, she is down for good and still only wakes twice a night which I am thankful for. Hopefully she will outgrow this fussy period soon. This is another thing that we didn’t have with Tyler. He had some gas issues around 6 or 7 weeks, but we don’t remember anything like this. I remember him taking a nap around 7pm, waking at 10pm, nursing and going to bed with us at 11pm. I do have to say there was a period where he only woke 2 or 3 times a night as well. Not initially though and his great night sleeping period didn’t last…

Crazy Napper
I think Tyler was still taking monster naps around this time - Quinn is all over the place. Some days I can get a long nap and some days it is catnaps all day long. Granted Tyler and I certainly do our best to disturb her with our adventures or his screams/noises. Again - I don’t mind so much - I would rather get the nighttime sleep anyway. She is so different from Tyler though - I remember that he took fairly decent naps and didn’t catnap as much.

Roly-Poly
This child moves. At 3 weeks, she rolled off a pillow and onto the floor from the couch. Thankfully, the couch was low and the floor was carpeted, so she was unharmed. We used to throw Tyler on a pillow for months. She scoots and wiggles and on occasion will roll from her side to her back. We have to definitely keep an eye on her wherever she is!

Greatest Smile Ever!
She has the most wonderful smile that melts me in the middle of some crazy days!

My Snugglebunny
I love to snuggle her at night. There is something about snuggling a baby that is so sweet and precious. I love sleeping with Tyler, but it isn’t the same. Maybe it is the Mama Bear thing where I feel like I am protecting her and making her feel safe?

Changing Diaper Fussies!
She does not always like having her diaper changed especially if she was already fussy. A diaper change especially upstairs would always calm Tyler. Maybe it was the laundry room that did it? Her diapers are mostly changed in the nusery.

So Different From Tyler
And that is how it should be with the second I suppose. They seem opposite - where he was easy, she is not and vice versa. I really enjoy picking out those differences in their personalities. And they have similarities too - the same nose for instance. As she blossoms, there will be more to observe and so much more to love!

He talks so much. Yesterday he told us a story,I think about Chris’ parents and peacocks. He talked non-stop for about 3 minutes and I could discern a few words among the babble. It is SO cute! I can’t wait until I can understand everything he has to tell me!

Lie Down!
Yesterday I was in the kitchen cooking and holding Quinn over my shoulder. The bouncy seat was also in the kitchen. These days Tyler has to be UP to see what I am cooking in the kitchen. He is fascinated by it. Who knows - maybe he will be a chef someday? Anyway, he wants up and I tell him my hands are busy. Then he pats the bouncy seat and commands me to “lie down, lie down”. Curious to see what he would do - I laid Quinn in the bouncy seat. He then puts him arms out to me and says “up!” He was commanding me to lay her down so I could pick him up so he could see. How cool that he problem solved a way to get her out of my hands and used his words to communicate what he wanted. I was pretty impressed - it was a cool moment!

ABCB..
Tyler is starting to sing the ABC song, but he sings it, “ABCB..” It is so cute - we are working on the D right now. Pretty funny though…

“Keys Go?”
He is really starting to string words together. He had been playing with my keys earlier in the day and I found them on the coffee table and put them away. He later went to the table and then said “keys go?” and then he said “pocket!” He thought I had put them in the pocket of my sling. Watching him learn to talk is too fun. His vocabulary and understanding of language grows every day. It blows my mind all that he can say and communicate to me.

Nap = Serenity
Some days I wonder if Tyler wants his nap as much as I do. Quinn had a particularly fussy morning and I am sure that has to grate on him. He also had a stressful second hairut today. It was quick, but he didn’t like it as much this time. Anyway, it was a gorgeous day in the 80s, so our nap walk was awesome. Once Quinn was alseep in the sling, I wonder if Tyler relaxed and konked out because finally it was peaceful. The lulling sounds of the outdoors were surrounding him, the motion of the stroller and there was no fussing whatsoever. I think some days that her cries have to wear him out or maybe stress him out a bit. He is a tough cookie though and some days will pat her to see if he can comfort her. I really need to give him a big hug for hanging in there with me. Some days he may be the source of her tension and he will scream and shout which upset her. He has tension to release too. That is why the nap walks are so zen-like - all three of us are quiet, peaceful and allowing the sounds of nature to calm us.

Today we were getting ready to go to the store and I went into the nursery to check on Chris and Quinn (he had been changing her diaper). He was changing her outfit so I asked if she had soiled it. Chris said, “No, but she has been in this onsie for a few days.” OK, two days people - we do change her clothes. And what outfit did Daddy pick out for his little priness? A yellow dress. Mommy would have just grabbed a onesie. She’s already Daddy’s little girl and his princess (one if his nicknames for her..gorgeous is another one).

He wears me out and drives me C-R-A-Z-Y somedays, but at the same time I love him to pieces and all the cute stuff that he does!!!

Tapping his Hands
This is definitely a Tyler mannerism - he taps his hands. So if his hands are resting on the table, he will gently tap his hands up and down while he is thinking or waiting for something. I do not know why I love it so much, but I do. Just a little tap, tap, tap while he is trying to decide what mischeif he could drum up to drive me batty! :-p

That is one way to blow bubbles
Tyler was playing at his friend Annika’s and she was blowing bubbles. Being an “older woman” Tyler was politely waiting his turn asking for bubbles. I was trying to hold the wand for him, but he wanted to do it. To my surprise, he knew how to hold it, but brought it to his mouth so the solution got all over his lips. He didn’t get bubbles to blow out of the wand, but later he breathed out through his mouth and a huge bubble formed!! It was hilarious!

Mr. Outgoing
Tyler loves people. What I find so cute is that when other Mom’s are doing things with their kids on the playground, he will ask them for help. So if a Mom is swinging her kid and there is an open swing right next to her, he will ask her to put him in the swing and swing him by saying “up”. A while back a Mom was helping her kid slide along this monkey-bar type thing where you hold a bar and it slidesy you across. He was following the Mom around asking her to hold him up and do it. It was so cute, because he has the sweetest little voice and asks so kindly. It is hard for me these days because with Quinn on my chest in the sling, I can’t always pick him up and do all the cool things I want to. When she is older, I can put her on my back in a different sling and that should help a bit.