first haircut

before

during

after

One cranky hairdresser, one singing pig, a few photos, an envelope of clippings, and $12 later and I miss his crazy mullet.

By the way, that's a rash on his face. Poor thing, I tried to scrub it off yesterday because I thought it was tomato barley soup! The teething continues...

happy go lucky

In Quincy's world, and mine by lucky association, this week has been all about learning new things and relearning old ones. I think he has learned more this week than at any other time so far. Watching him play and take it all in and learn new things is one of my favorite things in the world. It makes me very very happy. I find it so fascinating to watch his mind at work and I feel lucky to be a part of the process.

It was such a beautiful winter day, so we had a picnic on the balcony after music and the playground in the morning and before a well-earned three-hour nap in the afternoon. A happy day.

{Oh and by the way, I noticed in mid-tickle that one of those pesky molars did pop through and he has seven teeth up front now with the eighth coming through. But the worst must be over because he's been in a really good mood and sleeping better.}

the dentist. round one.

Seems like I have a lot to say about teeth lately!

Round one of the dentist is over, not paid for, but at least the drilling has stopped. The novicaine is wearing off and my teeth hurt like crazy. The following is a reminder to myself, in case I'm too tired to floss at night, or I convince myself that just one Coke a day isn't so bad, or I can't control my sweet tooth. This is not meant to cause dental phobia, however, because going for visits regularly of course prevents decay.

I hate the dentist. What do I hate most? Could it be...

• the dread?
• the walk down the corridor into the office, knowing what awaits?
• those super painful very slow jabs into your gums and cheek?
• the weird numbing sensation?
• the awful sound of the drill?
• the scraping?
• the feeling that you have to swallow but having too much equipment in your mouth to do so?
• the burning smell of the drill after it's been going for far too long?
• all the hands in your mouth?
• never knowing what's coming next?
• the multitude of sharp, scary looking tools that cycle through your mouth?
• when the drill comes back out to get your bite right?
• being forced to hold your mouth open for so long?
• the feeling like it's never going to end?
• the feeling like you're an idiot because you have little control over your tongue and saliva as you try to rinse?
• the news that the holes beneath the old fillings were so close to the nerves that I'll likely lose these two teeth and require root canals?
• the news that the one hole was so big that the gums had grown into the hole? (Did you even know that was possible? I didn't.)
• the pain after the numbing wears off?
• the knowledge that because the fillings were so deep, the pain will stick around for a couple of days?
• the hunger and the well-stocked fridge combined with a jaw that can't even entertain the thought of chewing?
• the awareness that you have to go back and do it all over again in a week and two days?
• the estimated $750 bill? (For both rounds + last week's x-rays.)

Luckily Quincy just woke up happy from a three-hour nap giving me ample time to lie here and feel sorry for myself.

yes, he's teething

& you should see the bite marks on his crib that prove it!

He has been teething for the last few weeks. And apart from the constant drool since last July, this is the first time it has really been noticeable. Mostly in the sleep department. At least that's largely to what I am attributing his current annoying sleep patterns. He has been waking up from some of his afternoon naps in such a pitiful state and for the last four nights he has been waking frequently at night. He hasn't done that since he started sleeping through the night two months ago and now that I've had a taste of the good life, I seriously want the wakefulness to stop. I have been having a hard time falling back to sleep once he stops crying and that never used to happen. He's also fighting his morning nap. He has only fallen asleep once during it for an entire week, but he does at least stay in his crib for about an hour. Also he has cut his afternoon sleep to about an hour and a half. Frustrating. I know it is common for sleep patterns to change, especially when they turn one, and I know I've had it pretty good up until now, but still!

Anyway, he now has three teeth on the top and three on the bottom. Strange, I know. And they're assymetrical too. The fourth ones are swollen and should hopefully be popping through soon. I'm also wondering what's going on with his first molars because he is chewing on his fingers and digging back there big time. Maybe they're just moving around.

one for me, one for the dogs

Quincy likes peas. They are one of his favorite veggies.

Today he learned that they taste even better when they are shared.

One for me

& one for the dogs.

As you an see, THis game made Him absoluely giddy.

QuinCy is siTTing nexT To me on THe bed rigHT now and is THe opposiTe of giddy beCause I won'T leT Him TouCH THe keyboard afTer He managed To break THe lowerCase C, H, and T. I sure Hope iT's Temporary. Now He's making a pHone Call. BeTTer run...

operation freedom

Pretty self explanatory really.

I do it rarely, so Q-bert seemed confused when I locked "Ba" + "Dai" in jail today while we were having a snack. He really wanted them to come out and play. He was trying very hard to get that door open. He never succeeded but he didn't get frustrated as he sometimes does when he can't get something "right".

On the subject of these three, Quincy loves to share with the dogs. He brings random toys and puts them in jail for them and tries to hand them tennis balls. Usually they aren't especially interested in what he has to offer though. Unless it's food, of course. Berkley sometimes plays along but I think it's out of sympathy. At least until Q can throw further than 6 inches and play tug-o-war without letting go. Then it'll be a different story for sure.

If I had to guess what was going on in Q's head here it would be this... Well, if I can't break them free, I'm going to at least bring them this cool toy.

I love how these three co-exist.

life in a small town

you know you live in a small town when...

1. the (note I said the not a) local police man visited our Mainly Music session today to mingle with the mums (and a handful of dads) and meet the littlies. After the music the ladies at the church serve up coffee + tea and some homemade goodies and they have water, biscuits, and apple slices for the kiddos. So I'm thinking he may have been hungry!


2. you go to the local dentist (for the first time) and the first thing he says to you is, "I saw you at music this morning."

Speaking of the dentist, I have been putting it off since before becoming pregnant. Not a good idea. I have quite a bit of work to be done in the next couple of weeks. It'll be good to rid myself of these toothaches, but no one, other than Marsha Brady, likes going to the dentist. I think I'd rather go have another C-section!

Something interesting I learned though... Apparently as babies we pick up the bugs that live in the mouth of one of our parents and that plays a big role in our oral health. So it's especially important to have any decay fixed before having a baby, so those bugs aren't passed on. I really wish I'd known that sooner. Poor Quincy. He doesn't have a chance unless he picks up his dad's bugs.

True? I'm not sure. But interesting nonetheless.

why didn't anyone warn me...

that filling a bean bag chair is a two-person job? And a one-year-old doesn't count. Okay, so it's not rocket science that having an extra pair of hands to hold open the bag would be beneficial. That was always my job on family leaf-raking days growing up. In the back of my mind I did know this to be true, but I wanted it done now. Not in two hours. Now.

So on the bag of annoyingly clingy choking hazards, it said to fill your bean bag in a bath tub with the drain blocked in case there are any spills. What? In case? As if there wouldn't be...

They were everywhere.

And this guy nearly vanished inside the chair that, after all that effort, really isn't all that comfortable.

And they really did get everywhere.

Why didn't I wait for Jeremy to get home?

The mess incidently could wait 'til he got home. I secretly was hoping he'd see it and say, "Don't worry honey, you go have a cup o' tea and tend to that cold of yours. I've got this under control." What really happened you may wonder? He just laughed, shook his head, and said "I guess I better go turn on the water heater in the laundry bathroom if I want to get a shower in the morning." Ye of little faith. Our bathroom's all cleaned up and good to go. Yes I had to pick them up pretty much one-by-one in the end, but if you had a sleeping toddler next door, you wouldn't use the vacuum either.

Another life lesson learned.

By the way, here is the blimmin' chair in action.

Do you know how to get Quincy to stay on an uncomfortable chair? Show him a piece of fruit. Do you know how to make him shout with glee? Give it to him.

little pink beauties

Like I mentioned yesterday, I've got these very cool, much-anticipated, just released Glitz Design Roller Doodle Stamps listed on Trade Me. The numbers and dashes are my personal favs. They are perfect for journaling lines and lists.
I have them listed individually and as a set of 5.

I have had a lot of fun using them on yesterday's card and on the following projects:

happy birthday husband!

This card was very much inspired by a piece of Cosmo Cricket paper. The cool dot and bracketed number stamps are part of a range of brand new Glitz Design Roller Doodle Stamps. They were just released at CHA and I have some of these little gems to sell on Trade Me. More details in my next post...

But for now, happy birthday, Jeremy! Berkley, Kai, Quincy, and I sure hope it's a good one.

our dogs' personalities captured "on film"

These pictures were taken back in February. They caught my eye tonight as I was making Jeremy's b-day card.

I guess we were bored one evening and looking for new and interesting ways to play with Q's toys. Anyway, they caught my eye tonight because each captures the dog's personality. Spot on.

Kai: {compliant with an attitude}

Berkley: {whatever}