I can share

Quentin has always been such a happy baby during the day and now... we think we may have turned a corner in the sleep department (finally!!) as he has strung several nights in a row of getting up once or less (as in none!!). We waited before telling anyone as at this point we don't want to jinx ourselves. At this moment I am typing and knocking on wood at the same time. He literally turned 10 months old on the day and slept through the night four nights in a row. Since then he's been averaging one wake up usually late morning, 3:30-4:00 am but goes right back to sleep. I can tell you we've been taking such advantage of the long night's rest that we've barely noticed we aren't getting up. It's unbelievable getting a full night's sleep that even after a week or so of getting the shut eye you already can't believe you ever survived not having any. We are thrilled. We didn't do anything different. He simply got older. It's the strangest thing I've ever witnessed and we had given up hope altogether so this is quite a happy and celebrated occasion at our house.

Lately, the Qster has dropped the up, up, up and exchanged it for "duh, duh, duh." I'm not sure what it is but he is saying it at all times non stop and saying nothing else. It almost sounds like a Homer Simpson, "D'oh!" or a soft "Dude," which is forever stuck in my vernacular from growing up in the 80s and certainly possible he could've picked it up. My employees give me grief about the constant "dudes" in meetings as in, "Dude?! Seriously? We can't do better than that?" We'll see if it turns into a bigger word at some point.

He has gotten much better about getting up and down from a standing position and has figured out how to squat to pick something up without going all the way down so he can bounce back up to a standing position. His favorite thing to do is drop everything on the floor and I mean everything. He'll move around the living room crawling to a location and then stand up, grab everything off the couch, coffee table, end tables and throw it on the floor. Our floor is a real life mine field. With it being Florida we are bare foot at all times and stepping on some pointy object is a serious hazard nearly every time you move around. Our bedroom full of stuff on the floor. Our bathroom full of toys on the floor. It's a constant race to pick things up so we can just dump them back on the floor again. He'll take his pacifier out, throw it on the floor (also in the car) and then cry that he doesn't have it any more. You'll pick it up and he'll throw it on the floor again within 30 seconds and then cry some more. Kids! Hmmph!

He has been quite a good sharer as Q and Lucky are constantly fighting for our attention and the same toys. Quentin is into balls to throw and crawl after and of course this drives the dog crazy so there is a constant race when he chucks one. The other night Quentin was getting ready for bed and came over to give me a kiss goodnight while sitting next to me on the couch. We were pretty close and he was working his pacifier over and then out of no where, and very unexpectedly, took it out of his mouth and thrust it into mine in a split second. I had no time to react. I got the business end of the pacifier in my mouth. Kind of gross. It's been a while since I've had one, but what a sweet gesture. That's his new thing when you get too close while he's sucking on one so we are at least aware of it now. What a great sharer!

Life's little lessons

Last night Quentin was afforded a rare opportunity. He was able to witness a live lesson in loyalty. It happened in Minneapolis and I know that he will forever remember it as he grows older and begins to make life's choices and how those choices will come back and reflect upon him and the kind of person, the kind of character he will have. Brett Favre came out onto the field wearing horns last night. No, not those horns, but the horns of a Minnesota Viking and the Packers got what their GM sowed; a painful, humiliating defeat at the hands of their very own home bred super star because he doesn't understand the concept of loyalty. After Quinny and I wiped our many tears away from the anguish of those three plus hours of absolute torture where our once proud hero picked apart our defense like a powder puff football team there was a valuable lesson to be learned. Son, you don't cut your best players, you cut your worst players. Your best ones may come back and wipe the field with your short sightedness. Quentin looked up at me with a look that only a child can give you. I could see the wonder in his eyes, the disappointment in his face. He knew that Ted Thompson was of the worst kind of an executive in sports. Here is a man that puts his own ego above all else, which provided Quentin another lesson. One in vanity. Son, you're never above the team. Although, there may be an I in win, there is no I in team. The Packers, now only one game better than the Detroit Lions, and two games below their old washed up, oh wait, well their old quarterback, Q still assures me the Packers will find a way to grind it out and make the playoffs. My little man is a little smarter and has more character than the entire front office of the Packers. I guess there is a silver lining after all. And to that we thank Ted Thompson, who should be looking for a new job in about 12 weeks.

Here is a picture of Q doing a little posing while eating the alphabet and sporting a mohawk. He loves the water, whether that's his pool, the bath or the dog bowls.

Quentin has caught yet another cold and was at the doctor's office again, which afforded another opportunity to be weighed in. He came in a 23 and 1/2 pounds. That kid is a load to carry around let me tell you. It's getting a little sad that Carrie goes into the doctor's office knowing what medicine he needs. He was in there nearly a month to the day for the same thing. He keeps picking these colds up at daycare and he can't kick em' so they manifest into a sinus infection and then he needs some meds to get rid of it. He actually enjoys slurping down the medicine so at least it's not an issue to get him to take it. It doesn't really bother him though. He can't breathe out his nose, so he has trouble eating sometimes but he maintains his happy disposition, which is great.

On a not so great note...Sadly, we lost a family member today. The first one we've lost as a family living in Florida. Oscar kicked the proverbial bucket this morning. I was horrified. I came in from my morning walk with Lucky and was rushing upstairs to get something out of my office when I noticed Oscar laying down and taking a nap on the bottom of his fish tank. I used my super powers of perception and deduced that Oscar doesn't normally sleep in such a comfortable pose. I knew he had passed. I shrieked and Carrie came rushing downstairs, where she too was horrified at the site. (Ironic he died on fish fry Friday). I would like to take a moment to eulogize Mr. Oscar. "He was a good fish. Weighing in at a solid 3 pounds 4 ounces he gave years of enjoyment to old and young alike. He gave far more than he ever took from this world. He was always doing tricks for guests and our family while never complaining and constantly entertaining. He grew up a big fish in a little pond starting his life in Gainesville before quickly moving and settling in Tampa where he spent his remaining years. There will be a funeral in the backyard this evening at 6 O'clock sharp. Any donations can be made to the local aquarium. May Mr. Oscar find the big ocean in the sky and live a happy spiritual existence swimming with the fishes."

It looks like this weekend we will be making a trip to the pet store to find us some new fish for our aquarium. I think it will be a fun experience for Q getting to see all the animals. They have snakes, lizards, rodents, dogs, cats, fish, birds and any other animal you can think of there so it should be something different for him.

I still can't get over him standing all the time. I went up to get him this morning and he was standing in his crib. So weird. I've attached a picture of him standing so you can see how big he's getting.