A fun visit with friends!

We had a very fun week this week, with a short but adventure-packed visit from my best friend Darla Bailey and her 3 year old, Miller. I was lucky enough to take half a day off, and Quincy and I joined them for a great afternoon. We visited "Kids Quest" childrens museum in Bellevue. Initially I was very unsure as to how Quin would like it, thinking he might still be too little to really get much out of it. I knew it would be great fun for Millie, and give Darla and I a chance to do some catching up as well. Fortunately, both Millie and Quincy had a fantastic time and could have played all day had we let them. There were some neat water exhibits, music areas, a science section and a big semi cab that the kids could crawl around in... but the hit was a huge bird themed play area right in the center of the museum. It was great fun for us all, and I really look forward to taking Quincy back soon. The best part for me, NO CLEAN UP! All the blocks, puzzle pieces, legos, etc. all get picked up by the staff at the end of the night and I don't have to lift a finger. Pretty good, right? The two kids had a yummy dinner and took a bath together. I have never had to fight to get Quin out of the bath like I did that night. He was in absolute heaven having an older kid to play with in the bath. He has always loved older kids, and he just adored Millie. It was just about the cutest thing!

At one point while watching our children play, I just thought out loud about how odd it was to be sitting there with my best friend of several years watching our kids play togather. We aren't nannies... or babysitters. We are mothers, and sometimes both Dan and I look around and think to ourselves "When did all this happen?". After some consultation, apparently this feeling never really goes away.

First trip to the park

With such a nice string of weekends, the fun just keeps on coming!! This weekend we made a quick trip to the park here in our neighborhood. There was some initial trepidations on both the swing and the slide... but it didn't last long and within seconds our little "Evil Knievel" wanted more, higher, faster and all by himself. He seemed to like the slide the most. I was a protective mother bear who wanted to hold on to him all the way down, but Dan just set him up there and let him at it. He LOVED it and kept wanted to go again and again.

February updates from the Williams clan

It has been awhile, so a much needed blog update is in order. Dan has been pestering me... and I am not sure why he doesn't jump on here and blog too? We will have to discuss this option perhaps. The last month has been good and Quincy has continued to blossom into quite the little personality. He is a constant comedian. Where does he get that from? With a mom and dad so serious all the time? Who knows. Whenever he gets the reaction he is looking for he just keeps up the antics. We have received reports from daycare telling us the same. He has such a good time playing and entertaining everyone he meets. He also seems to love the outdoors, especially now that he can walk (and run) around freely. It hasn't been too great here to be able to even go outdoors often, but this last weekend warmed up and was dry long enough to do some exploring. On Saturday we went to look at the trains in Snoqualmie and on Sunday we took a nice long walk in a park in Bellevue. Both days, Quin was beyond himself with joy. As we parked in Snoqualmie, he initially just stood there not quite knowing what to do. Dan took his hand and encouraged him to walk, and he beamed. A smile from ear to ear for a good solid portion of the entire afternoon I believe. He occasionally broke free from our hands to be independent, but he would come back and grab mama's hand to walk along further. He was so cute about holding our hands, and was quite aware of coming back occasionally to hold them. We were very amused. He was quite a trooper on Sunday, as we went for a pretty long walk. Daddy held him the last third of the walk and he was dead asleep by the time we got back to the car. It was a fun weekend, and we look forward to future trips to places like the Zoo, the aquarium, and other parks now that he is so aware and excited for everything around him.

It is not all fun and games, however, as we are most definitely entering the "temper tantrum" phase. As Quincy gains independence, he also gains a strong will of his own... and it doesn't always coincide with our own ideas. We have had some mad, thrashing around the floor, blown up fits over some pretty silly little things, and he gets so worked up that he doesn't even remember what it was he started the tantrum over in the first place!?! Grocery stores are hard. He doesn't want to sit, or even be held... he wants to RUN all over the place. Not so fun in a busy Safeway with a list of things to buy. Thankfully Dan does an amazing job with him. He has the patience I lack, and can always calm him down and restore our home to a happy one.

Valentines Day was pretty mellow at the Williams house. The day after, Quincy's daycare offered a "parent's night out" night where they stayed open until 11pm for an extra fee. We went out to dinner, and had to scratch our heads to remember what kinds of things we used to do with all our free time (and money!). We ended up checking our watches every 30 minutes or so until we felt like we had gotten our money's worth and could pick the baby up. He did really well though, and had fallen asleep before we got there to pick him up. Now that I know he is good staying late, next time we might actually go to a movie too! It is nice to go out for some "adult time"... no kid's menus, or big messes, or crayons and paper to pick up off the floor 20 times.

A sunny, family day!

We had a very nice and SUNNY day together as a family yesterday! The sun can do so much to lift your spirits, can't it? We miss it here sometimes!!! With the holidays and Dan working so much lately, it has been hard for us to have some good family time, just the three of us. So this last Sunday, with the sun shining and the temperature reaching all the way up to a balmy 50 degrees, we decided to make an overdue trip to the new Olympic Sculpture Park on the Seattle Waterfront. It is a really nicely put together park, and a fantastic way for us to introduce Quincy to the fine arts at a price we can afford.... FREE! Quin loved walking on the gravel, until the 2nd or 3rd stumble, then he refused to budge. There were lots of other children there, and he is fascinated by them. He just watches their every move, and yells his baby jibberish so matter-o-factly, as if to say "Hey Guys! Over here... I want to play, too!" Dan and I are in constant awe of him and he provides us endless entertainment. I recently read a magazine article written that summed up this last year perfectly. As Quincy is busy discovering all the things this world has to offer, we are busy as parents discovering all the things he has for us. He is new to this planet, and we are new to him. To the parents of multiple children, we are probably absurd to see as we fuss over him, everyday he learns something new and we treat it as though he has discovered the solution to world hunger. He is a genius (of course!) I watch him like a hawk, nervous in my recognition that he is already learning independence. We gloat to anyone who will listen about how he just yesterday pointed at his bottles and said "baba" telling us what he wanted (thankfully ending a bit of a fit he was having), how he is so silly and tries to make us laugh by doing things like trying to "feed" mommy his bottle, how well he walks after such a short time... enjoying a game of "chase", and how the pediatrician confirmed at his 12 month check up that he is a genius. Ok... so maybe not exactly , but he did say he is very developed in his verbal skills, especially for a boy, saying "ball" "dog" and "uh-oh". We are so lucky and so happy with him, even on the hard days. I have felt all kinds of love. Love for my parents, siblings, friends, boyfriend, husband. But NOTHING is like the love I have for my baby. It is amazing. It is cliche. It is true.

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Quincy!!!

As we start the new year, I am amazed that I now officially have a toddler! We had a good New Years, just spending some time with friends. I know my life is changed forever as a parent, by looking at how we spend New Years. We actually were in bed mostly asleep at midnight. Mostly because the power was out when we got home at 11:00, but also because we were just TIRED! Now come the New Years resolutions! For me, I just want to work on dropping this extra baby weight I am still holding onto!

My mom came to visit and be here for Quincy's first birthday. It has been nice, of course. Having an extra pair of hands is ALWAYS nice as Quincy continued to wear us out running around all day long! Today we the big day, and we officially have a one year old. Its hard to keep from getting emotional when I think about how far we have come in the last year. I was so afraid a year ago about what motherhood would be like, and how capable I would be. I felt not at all ready for it, yet I suprised myself and motherhood came pretty natural. Fatherhood was natural to Dan as well, and I remember just falling in love with him all over again as I saw him tenderly hold and love our newborn child. As for our first birthday celebration...We had a fun party, with all kinds of friends and family here to help us celebrate. Quincy gobbled up his birthday cake in less than a minute. The boy loves sweets just like his mommy! He kept up pretty well, only get overwhelmed and crabby a few times during the party... afterwords is another story! So much action makes for a weary and fussy boy! It was so much fun, and so special to have everyone here.