Halloween

Quentin went trick-or-treating for the first time this year (not counting the zoo last year, which isn't really the same). He loved it. He went with 3 of his cousins and got the hang of it very quickly. By the end, he was very tired and his bucket was very heavy, but he kept on going. Afterwards, he was so tired that he forgot to eat more than 2 small pieces of candy.

The Pumpkin Patch

Yardwork

Here a some pictures of us in the yard.

Quentin in his new sandbox.

In the hole we dug for the new basement window.

Mowing the lawn.

Dance and Sing

Big Boy Bed!

I've been so delinquint in posting updates that I missed a major milestone. Quentin graduated to a big boy bed on July 19. The original plan was to make the transition gradually--trying the regular bed for naps, but still sleeping in the crip at night. Well, after a few minutes of indecision on Quentin's part, he decided to give the big boy bed a try, and we haven't looked back. Miraculously, he sleeps just as well in the bed, despite the temptation of all his toys. He has managed to fall out once, but handled it pretty well. So, just a few weeks after disassembling and reassembling his crib for the move, we got to disassemble it one more time and move it to the basement.

New House

I've been meaning to post an update for about two months now, but there's just been so much to do. We bought a house and moved (again) in the beginning of July. It's a fairly small house, but it is a good size for us, and will be even better after we finish the basement. Here are a few picture of Quentin enjoying his new house (which he still calls "the new house").

First time in the house (living room).

Quentin's new bedroom.

Quentin's new bedroom a little bit later.

Happy to have stairs again.

Quentin and Daddy exploring the unfinished basement.

Helping.

Enjoying the back yard (which has a beautiful maple tree, some nice paths, and a lot of dirt).

At the Butterfly Pavillion

Today we went to the Butterfly and Insect Pavillion. Quentin had a great time. In addition to seeing the butterflies, he got to touch a sea star and a horseshoe crab, and he got to hold Rosie the tarantula (bottom picture).

Long-Overdue Update

Quentin's speech has really come a long way in the last few months. His vocabulary has really grown and he often speaks in more-or-less complete sentences (although it isn't always easy to understand him). My favorite new word that he just started using in the last couple of weeks is "yes." He says "no" often enough, it is a nice break to hear "yes" once in a while. He has mostly mastered his colors now (he isn't too good about yellow or pink yet, but he has the other basic colors--plus burgundy--down). He can count to 12 with help (he needs someone to point to whatever he is counting and repeat the numbers after him to keep him on track), although he sometimes says nine where five should be. He likes to sing the alphabet song and, although it is mostly gibberish to the tune of the alphabet song, we can hear more and more actual letters in there every day.

We went to the playground after daycare today. Quentin loves to climb on the playground equipment and then slide down the slide. He learned to go down the slide feet-first on his belly and we're having trouble transitioning him to sitting, but he has a great time either way. Recently he has taken to going head first on his belly.

He still loves science-fiction (robots, monsters, etc...). Yesterday morning he was playing with (Matthew's) Godzilla figure and decided he wanted to watch Destroy All Monsters (A Godzilla movie featuring a wide array of monsters--it really isn't as violent as it sounds, especially not the part he usually watches). I decided to let him watch a few minutes of it, and as soon as the Godzilla theme started playing (any Godzilla fans will know what I am talking about), he started singing along (it doesn't have lyrics, but he knows the tune). I managed to get a few seconds of video before he stopped me. Here it is:

"Bye Tortillas, See You Later"

The picture was taken on Monday (Cinco de Mayo). The quote ("bye tortillas, see you later") is what Quentin said about 10 minutes ago when I was putting away the tortillas after dinner.

My Son is a Nerd

Quentin has inhertited Matthew's interest in science fiction. For a kid who really just started talking a couple of months ago, he knows an inordinate number of sci-fi/fantasy words (his pronunciation isn't always clear, but it's consistent):

Gorgo (the British equivalent of Godzilla)

Gigan (a monster from Godzilla)

Dinosaur (refers to dinosaurs and also Godzilla)

Space Dinosaur (Space Godzilla)

Robot Dinosaur (Mecha Godzilla)

King Kong

Destroy [All] Monsters (a Godzilla movie)

treasure

pirate

spaceship

Planet (as in Forbidden Planet, a classic sci fi movie)

Planet Apes (as in Planet of the Apes, another classic sci fi movie)

Ankylosaurus

Triceratops

Raptor

Nychus (as in Deinonychus, a dinosaur)

castle

knights

Cyclops

Rodan (another Godzilla monster)

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of now.

[OK, so dinosaurs aren't exactly science fiction, but he kind of lumps them with the Godzilla monsters]

Bats in the Belfry

We have a bunch of toy bats at home in various styles and sizes, and Quentin has become obsessed with them recently. So much so, in fact, that they led to his first three-word sentence! While playing with the small plastic bats in the bath a few days ago, he realized that I hadn't given them all to him. Hence the sentence "more bats please." He has also followed up with "more cheese please." We're getting more two-word phrases as well ("more cake," "open treasure"). I tried to count up his entire vocabulary and came up with just over 70 words (and I keep thinking of things I forgot...). Although the range of "normal" for kids his age is huge, this is well within that range. Hooray! He took his time about starting to talk, but now he's really taking off.

He also counted to three for the first time today. We were counting bats in the bathtub (surprise) and he counted them "one, two, three, two." Two seems to be his favorite number--I have trouble getting him to start at one. Several times he counted "two, two, three, two, three, six." At least he's got the two-three sequence down! And he got the "one" part right a few times (including the first time).

2!

Quentin turned 2 today. He had a construction site cake (fun and easy!). He also got more presents, most of them with wheels.

Why use a fork when you have a bulldozer?

Happy New Year!