Happy Halloween Everybody!

Today was quite a day. Mommy and me got up real early and went to a new playgroup that was through early intervention. My teacher Miss Dorothy was there and that was pretty cool. There were supposed to be lots of kids there but it was only me and one other little boy. He could walk, clap, dance, and he kept saying "yes", which is apparently much better than "no". I really liked watching him play, but didn't feel like participating much, at least not until it was snack time. I was a little overwhelmed, but I can never turn down a free graham cracker! It was fun and maybe next time I will participate more. When it was time to go Miss Dorothy gave me a halloween treat bag, it was really cool!

Tonight it was Halloween night so we went trick or treating over to Grandma Jan's house. She took me around an showed me to all of her neighbors, they all thought I was really cute of course. Then Grandpa Don walked me around so I could see all the neighborhood decorations, that was fun too. When we went back in the house I showed Mommy a new trick. See there is this moon thing hanging in Grandma's living room. Last time I was there she tried to teach me to wave to the moon. This time I figured it out by myself. Grandma would point to it, say "Wave to the Moon" and I would wave! I did it a bunch of times tonight cause I wanted to prove to Mommy that it wasn't just a fluke!

Then I got bubbles and some new cool Halloween books from Grandma. It was a really fun night, but now I am sooooo tired!

Quinn and Portia dressed up for Halloween. Quinn is an Astronaut and Portia is "Dog Vadar". 

Quinn dressed up for Halloween as an Astronaut! He sure looks like he has "the right stuff", doesn't he? 

Quinn in his dragon costume, he really didn't like the hood! 

Quinn wore himself out playing at Grandma's house. He had to rest his head for a couple of minutes! 

Happy Birthday Grandma Donna!!!

I had such a fun and exciting day today. First I woke up really early at Grandma Jan's and Grandpa Don took care of me. Then me, Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa Don's Uncle and his wife all went for a long car ride. We went to look at leaves and we walked around a really cool little town and went in a bunch of stores. We went out to lunch and I ate chicken fingers and french fries like a big boy. Note to Mommy, time to start ordering for me off the kids menu! I also had chocolate ice cream for dessert!

Then Mommy, Daddy, and Portia picked me and we all went to Grandma Donna's house! As you can see it is Grandma Donna's birthday and we went to celebrate. We played, had dinner, and I showed off my halloween costume for Grandma and Grandpa. Portia showed them her's too but she wasn't too thrilled with having to wear it. Grandma got some cool furry boots and comfy pajamas for her birthday. Oh, and she gave me ice cream for dessert too! Gotta love that Grandma lovin!

This morning I just hung out with Mommy and Daddy. It was fun. They had CNN on the TV downstairs and there were these cool words just flying by on the bottom of the screen. I climbed up and tried to catch them, but no luck. Mommy says I am so silly, but she loves the ticker on CNN too!

This afternoon I went over to Grandma Jan's house. She got me this cool farm toy/puzzle for Halloween, I really liked playing with it. I am spending the night at her house and then we are gonna go look at leaves. Fun, fun, fun.

My PT Lindalee came over today, and I was so not in the mood to work! I was kinda cranky all day actually. She took the paint cans that were weighing down my rubbermaid container and put them in my wagon. That made it harder to push my wagon so it doesn't get away from me as easily. Of course al I wanted to do was play with the paint cans, they were cool!

I had a good day even though I was cranky and tired. I just didn't feel like taking a nap today, so that is probably why. Tommorow is a Happy Friday, so Daddy is gonna stay home. I love it when we can hang out together in the morning. Then I am gonna go spend the night at Grandma Jans. I can't wait!

I forgot to write yesterday that I got mail! I got a Halloween card from Grandma Jan, but mine didn't have a treat in it like Portias, or that funny green paper that Mommy likes so much, which was in her card. No matter cause I love paper so I had a great time playing with the card. Thanks, Grandma!

Today me and Mommy played a bunch. She had hidden a couple of magazines in my wagon and I found them today. I got them out and had a great time looking at them and playing with the paper. We played Patty-Cake, but I did not participate like Mommy wanted me to. It was still fun though, I love it when she pokes my belly!

Tommorow Lindalee comes over, maybe I will be in the mood to show her my cruising, or maybe not!

My speech teacher came over today. I had the hiccups but was in a pretty good mood. I did everything she asked me to, except talk of course. I put a block in a container a bunch of times with almost no help or encouragement. My teacher thinks that means I know what "in" means. I am not sure yet.

I had a really yummy lunch today, Mommy made me a jelly sandwich. I am not allowed to have peanut butter for a couple more months, but just jelly is fine with me! That is some really yummy sticky stuff! I ate it all and didn't even share with Portia, it was that good!

When Daddy got home we played and I kept trying to climb the gate to see what Mommy was doing. I am not that good at pulling up on the gate so I kept falling and bumping my head, that made me pretty mad. After dinner we watched "I Love the 80's: 3D", I didn't get any of the jokes, Mommy says that is because the 80's were a long long time ago.

Today was fun. I didn't have any therapies or appointments. Mommy and me just played all day. We worked on me walking with my wagon. That went okay, I really liked it, I am just not that great at it yet. Mommy kept messing with me and trying to get me to cruise along the coffee table. She is a little anxious cause I haven't cruised since we saw Pat Winders. I gave her a few steps and that seemed to make her happy. I personally prefer to kneel at the table so I can chew on it. After all the things my family has done to that table in the past, Mommy says I am the first to put teeth-marks in it!

When Daddy came home we played a bunch! He likes to play with the light up thing Grandma got me, which is fine with me cause I love it! Then at dinner I ate crackers while Mommy and Daddy had dinner. When they were done Daddy tried to pull my tray away so we could go play. I pulled it right back cause I wasn't done with my yummy crackers! Who says I can't communicate my wants and needs???!

No milk mustaches for Quinn, he prefers a milk beard...chocolate milk that is!

Today was Sunday, and that means Football! I watched football pretty much all day with Daddy. It was okay, but I will be happy when this season is over so Daddy will play with me more!

I was kinda cranky today so I took a long nap and went to sleep early. Nothing really exciting happened today, just another lazy Sunday.

This morning we went to our Down Syndrome groups welcome brunch. It was lots of fun! Grandma Donna and Grandpop Bill came with us which made it even more funer! There were tons of kids there and even though I didn't really play with them I did enjoy watching them. Everyone said how cute I was and how much hair I have. Mommy says that means I am in desperate need of a haircut, uh oh!

After we got back from brunch we went over to Grandma Jan's house. I had fun there getting into everything etc. Unfortunately it was really yucky out so me and Grandpa Don didn't get to go for our regular walk. It was a really fun day but boy am I worn out, Goodnight!

Guess what I did today! I cruised!!!! We went to see Pat Winders and she found the perfect surface for me to walk along and I did it! I did a really good job too and Mommy and Pat were both very impressed. The only problem is there is nothing in our house that is the right height for me to cruise along! We will have to work on that. Pat was also very happy with my walking (with hand-holding of course) and my stair climbing. It was a fun session!

It was a really yucky day out and when me and Mommy went outside we got wet! I don't think I love this rain stuff. It was cold out too, yuck!

Tommorow we are going to the Down Syndrome groups Welcome Brunch. I went last year too, but I was too little to enjoy it! This time I am gonna show off and be extra cute so all the new parents will know that it is really okay to have a special kid like me.

I am officially 18 months old today! Can you believe it??

My PT came over today and I showed off for her lots. She was very impressed with my crawling on my hands and knees. She also predicted I would be cruising the sofa by Christmas and walking by the time I am two! Of course then she said, "But this is Quinn, so he is just going to do it when he is ready!" She did say that my crawling form was perfect though!

Grandma Donna came over for dinner and luckily Grandpop Bill was able to come with her. She brought me a little ball, and surfer Snoopy, and the coolest light stick thingy ever! I love it! It is for halloween and it lights up all different colors and they spin around, it is the best!

After they left I had dinner, it was green beans and turkey and I liked that even better than the chicken and pasta! I fed most of it to myself. Then I was so worn out from my big day I went to sleep early.

Tommorow I am going to see Pat Winders...Yay!

Today was a pretty fun day. When I woke up my shirt was halfway off and my slipper was hanging off me too. Mommy says it looked like I had a rough night, but I didn't really!

My OT came over today and she wanted to watch me eat. I wanted to watch her watch me eat, so we didn't get very much accomplished. It is just really distracting to me when people are around when I am trying to eat. She also wanted me to spoon-feed myself, and I wanted to have nothing to do with that!

I spent the rest of the afternoon chasing my coffee can and blow-up globe around the living room. I also crawled on my hands and knees quite a bit today. For dinner I got a Gerber Graduate meal and it was really good. It was a microwave dinner with chunks of carrots, chunks of chicken and wagonwheel pasta. I fed most of it to myself with my hands and Mommy and Daddy were very proud! Tommorow Lindalee is coming over, plus we are gonna get up early and watch the View cause a couple of grown ups with Down Syndrome are gonna be on. Mommy says they should be my role models.

The best thing about tommorow is that Grandma Donna is coming over for dinner!!! I can't wait to see her.

I am so sorry that I missed posting for two whole days! You see, I still need Mommy's help to write my blog and sometimes she gets distracted.

On Monday my teacher came over, it was really fun seeing her. She brought her cool toy that is plastic oreos and I have to put them in the cookie jar. I got a couple in all by myself and she was really impressed. I also tried to eat them, that is when I realized the were plastic. She said that she is going to be having a playgroup every other Monday that I am invited to! There will be a couple of other kids there for me to play with, it sounds like lots of fun and it is a lot closer than the other playgroups we go to sometimes. The first one is on Halloween, I might even wear my costume!

Today my speech teacher came over. I had to get up so early and I didn't wanna, I was still too tired. Mommy said I had to sit in my highchair cause my ST is getting so big that she can't get on the floor so easy anymore. Mommy says she has a baby in her belly, but I grabbed it and didn't feel anything! Besides that we took a long nap and played a bunch today, it was fun.

Daddy and Portia both got haircuts today! They look different but I still recognized them. I went over to Grandma Jan's today. It was fun as usual. She always puts a chair in front of the VCR so I can't play with it, but I am so strong that I can move it now! She can't keep me from the VCR that easily. I went for a long walk with Grandpa Don this evening and I really liked looking at the moon. It was so big and bright and pretty! I also watched them tow a car, now that was neat! Grandpa got me a new ball to play with so I chased that all around the house, it was a really fun day.

Daddy and me hung out all morning, that was sure fun!

Tonight we were gonna go for a walk, but Mommy thought it was gonna rain. So instead we went to the mall! I loved it! We walked all around and everytime we went in a store I tried to grab everything. Especially when we were in the Disney store and at the magazine rack in the book store. Mommy was just too fast, so I didn't get to grab anything...oh well. My favorite part was watching the fountain. I just love water and this fountain had lights and the water spurted up in the air! I could have watched it all day. There was also a really cool Merry-go-Round, but Mommy says I am not quite old enough for that yet.

It was a really fun night, I love going on dates with Mommy and Daddy. Tommorow I am going to Grandma Jan's house. Yay!

I took my crib apart this morning! When Mommy came in I had pulled the chew bar off my crib! It is this long plastic thing that protects my crib bar from getting toothmarks on it. I somehow managed to pry it off, and it wasn't easy cause one of my crib toys was tied around it! Mommy says I am just like Daddy cause I just love to take things apart. That is good cause I wanna be just like Daddy, he is the greatest!

My PT Lindalee came over today. I did show off for her a little so Mommy was proud of me. I did smack her once and kept pushing her away. She told Mommy that was very age appropriate and that her little boy does that all the time too. Tommorow is Daddy's Happy Friday, so I get to hang out with him all day! Fun, fun, fun!

Mommy and me had a really exciting day. First we went to the Post Office cause we had to mail a very important letter to Uncle Sam...I didn't know I had an uncle named Sam...I thought just a cousin. Oh well, Mommy said something about the IRS and a big check, but I am too little to know what that means.

After we went home and I took a nap Grandma Donna came over. Mommy, me, and Grandma all went over to our friend Shawna's house. She has a little boy names Lucas and we went over for dinner, to play, and to collect some more of Lucas' clothes. He is where most of my clothes come from, he has the best hand-me-downs! He is so lucky, he has his very own fish tank in his room. I really liked watching the fish, I liked watching Lucas too...that kid is so cool he never slows down!! There were 2 cats and a dog there, they were all real friendly with me. I guess they didn't know I pull hair. I also got to play with some of Lucas' cool toys. It was a really fun night!

I had a fun day today. I woke up extra early so I could play with Daddy as much as possible. We had a great time together this morning...I really love the big guy!

After that we went to the mall. That was fun too, I really like watching all the people and touching the clothes and stuff. Mommy bought a new diaper bag, I helped her pick it out. After the mall we went to the fabric store cause Mommy needed new scissors. Me and Daddy hung out while Mommy did girly things. You would think that we would go home after that but no, we went to Trader Joes. They had lots of cool flowers there and I really liked looking at them. We got a chicken for dinner and I ate some! Mommy tore it into really little pieces for me and I managed with just my two teeth.

When it was time for bed Daddy put me in my new PJ's they are much too big for me, but really comfy. They sure made it hard to crawl around though!

Today I went over to Grandma Jan's house. It was lots of fun as usual. She got me a cool new book that read the story to me as I turned the pages, I really liked it but she said I had to leave it there...it was a Grandma's house toy! I also got this cool new basketball hoop toy that I really liked. I had a good time standing at their coffee table and trying to get their stuff. They gave me some chunks of meat and carrots for lunch and even thought I didn't want to, I fed myself. I am getting much better at that.

Tommorow is Columbus Day, and even though you can't "discover" a place where people already live, Daddy gets the day off! Horray for Columbus! We will probably go to the mall since Mommy didn't get to today. I like the mall!

It was still real rainy today, but that is okay cause Daddy was home and then we got a visit from Grandma Donna and Grandpop Bill. That made it into a really fun day! Grandma brought me a coffee can so I could practice putting stuff "in". I would much rather take stuff out, but since Grandma brought me that cool can I did put a couple of blocks into it. Everyone seemed real impressed and even clapped for me. Grandpop is so funny, he kept trying to make my hands clap themselves...it was funny but a little scarey...not like when Mommy does it. They also brought me a really cool blow up ball of the world, I liked that a lot. I ate some brocoli at dinner, it was okay. I only tried it cause Grandma told me it was a little tree and that seemed cool. Plus, I was out of cheese curls.

Tommorow I am going to Grandma Jan's. I love these Grandma filled weekends!!!

Boy did it rain today! All day long it poured, I am so glad I don't have to go outside to go to the potty like Portia does! Of course Mommy and me didn't go anywhere cause it was so yucky out. We hung out and played and watched TV. All good rainy day things. For some reason I didn't get a very good nap so I feel asleep right after Daddy got home. I did wake up later and he fed me and played with me a little. Tommorow is Saturday so I get to spend all day with him...otherwise I would be really disapointed. It is supposed to rain all day tommorow too, oh well...Daddy says it is good cause we were having a drought. He watches too much Discovery channel!

My PT Lindalee came over today. Unfortunately I did not feel like showing off for her so she didn't get to see how great I was doing. She said she believed Mommy though. Personally I am getting a little tired of having people come to our house and Mommy demanding I show off. Sometimes I just don't wanna! Of course after she left I crawled all around, pulled to stand, and got into sitting.

I had a pretty fun day. Mommy is so funny and she makes me smile and laugh. I love it when she kisses my neck and today she was in a real kissy mood. I let her look at my teeth. She says there are two of them, but there is a space between them. Hey, beggars can't be chosers...she wanted me to get teeth and I am getting them! So what if they are coming in in a wierd way.

Nothing planned for tommorow. On Saturday I get to see Grandma Donna and Grandpop Bill! Yay!

It was a fun day today. We got up early to wait for Peapod to come and I got to watch some of my shows cause Mommy was tired. After that we took a nap and then the OT came. She wanted me to scribble with a crayon, I wanted to eat the crayon...we finally agreed to disagree. She did have this cool tubie thing that I really liked playing with. Mostly she and Mommy just talked about me goals though.

I ate some new stuff today cause Mommy really wants me to start getting more liquids. First I got chocolate milk in my cup instead of just regular milk, yummy! Then I got jello for a snack, double yum! Plus I got some Italian ice for desert, but I didn't like that so much. Mommy gave me some french fries with dinner and I fed them to Portia. That isn't anything new, but it was different cause this time I did it on purpose! I laughed so hard when Portia came up and ate out of my hand, it was really funny.

I also went halfway across the living room today on my hands and knees! I only crawl that way when I am not in a hurry though, the other way is faster!

This morning my speech teacher came over. I didn't talk until she left, but I did take a few steps on my hands and knees. Mommy said it looked just like real crawling!

This afternoon I went over to Grandma Jan's house. It was lots of fun! I spit up all over her carpet, but she still loves me. We went for a walk and then to the playground. I swung in the swing but had more fun watching the other kids. Maybe Mommy will take me there sometime soon. For dinner I had a fake chicken nugget, tofu isn't that bad...no matter what Mommy says. Grandma finally figured out how to block me from the VCR, which kinda sucked. But I enjoyed pulling up on the chair she put in front of it. I am now an expert at pulling up to her coffee table...but it is almost not worth it cause she moved all the fun stuff!

Tommorow I have OT, nothing else is going on.

My teacher came over this morning. It was fun! We played with lots of stuff and she worked on getting me to put stuff in, not just take it out. What is the point of that??? I only want to do really fun stuff!

Mommy wanted me to start working on pulling up to the sofa. So she put one of her shoes up there so I would want to get it. That was all it took, I pulled up to that sofa like it was nothing! And that was one of my biggest PT goals for this month. I guess we can check that one off the list. Then when I was getting a bath I pulled to stand against the side of the bathtub! I usually sit in a special bath seat, but today I refused to bend my legs so Mommy let me sit alone in the tub. What fun! It was a little slippery, but nothing I can't handle.

Tommorow my speech teacher comes over and then I get to spend the rest of the day with Grandma Jan!

Guess what??!! I have another tooth coming in! It is right next to my other one and Grandma Jan found it tonight when we stopped by her house. I might have more....but I will be darned if I let Mommy go exploring in my mouth!

We are home safe and sound in Maryland again. It was a really fun trip to New York though, as you can see from my pictures below. I still prefer home and it will be so nice to sleep in my big comfy crib again. I had my first real NY bagel this morning...yummy! I also got to meet Aunt Stacey's sister today, she was really nice. I showed off and was extra cute for her and her husband. Mommy says that is my job when I am around women who are of breeding age and ability....be extra cute. That isn't a very hard job for me though, it comes naturally.

Tommorow it is back to work. My teacher is coming over in the morning. Then Tuesday is a Jewish holiday so I get to spend all day with Grandma Jan! That is because even though she isn't Jewish the schools give her the day off. Isn't that nice of them? Oh yeah...she bought me a whole big bag of warm comfy winter PJ's...thanks Grandma Jan!

Here is one of Quinn standing at the coffee table at Grandma Jan's house. Yes, he got there himself! 

Me and Aunt Stacey on the subway. 

Quinn with his Uncle Scott and Aunt Stacey on the Staten Island Ferry. 

Mommy and Daddy with the pizza slices that were almost as big as I am! 

Quinn enjoying a piece of New York pizza crust. 

Me, Mommy, and Daddy at Times Square in New York City. 

Today was so much fun, it was a totally New York day! We woke up late and went to lunch at a pizza place up the street from Uncle Scott's house. The slices were almost as big as I was and I am not exaggerating! Mommy gave me some of her crust and it was really yummy. I chewed on it for a while and even took it on the subway with me. That is right, I rode the NYC subway all over this town today. It was really neat, and it really helped me poop....well the Miralax that Mommy has been giving me helped a little too. We went to Times Square and looked at all the huge light up billboards. Plus we went in the worlds biggest Toys R' Us and it had a full sized ferris wheel in it! Mommy says when I get a little older I can ride on it. After that we got on the subway again and went to the ferry station. We rode the ferry (which is just a really big boat) all the way to Staten Island and back. We say the Statue of Liberty and the city from the water, it was neat and I really liked feeling the wind blow in my face. After we got back we went to Central Park and walked around. We saw tons of dogs at the park and they make me miss Portia. We saw ducks and boats and lots of people too. Then we went to dinner at a trendy New York restaraunt and once again I was the only kid there. But the brought me a big plate of fries and they were really yummy. Not Yucky at all, Mommy told them...we want regular fries, not the Yuka fries you have listed on the menu!

Tommorow we go home, this was a pretty fun visit but I do miss Maryland.