Quinn is One!

My sweet little baby is one year old! They always say that time speeds by when your kids are little, but it was much more true with Quinn's first year than it was with Bennett's. It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that we brought him home from the hospital, and here we are at his birthday. We had his party last Saturday, and he had a great time--especially once he figured out what to do with the cake (which turned out to be grabbing fistfulls and shoving it in the general direction of his face, then diving face first into the plate when both hands were too messy to be useful).

Quinn's favorite toy is a stuffed penguin, and he was a penguin for Halloween, so we decided to have a penguin party. I made penguin cupcakes (you have to see the book, Hello, Cupcake! if you ever host parties) that turned out super-cute if I do say so myself. I have to credit the excellent instructions, not my own skill. I also made an igloo cake because the cupcakes were better to look at than to eat because the penguin was made from mini donuts and donut holes on top of a cupcake, and I couldn't find any good mini donuts anywhere. I'm sorry I don't have pictures to include...we don't have enough room on the computer to download any recent pics right now. I'll try to remember to add them when we get them downloaded.

Quinn is such a little character. He's a lady's man like Bennett was, but a little more subtle. He went for his 12 month checkup yesterday and he was really putting on a show for the women in the lobby, smiling and laughing and waving and trying to walk around to the back of their desk. Yes, he's walking now, but he doesn't like to try it unless you hold his hand. He'll take 6-7 steps while he's playing, but he's not convinced it's his most efficient mode of transportation yet.

He's not quite 20 pounds and 29.5 inches--MUCH smaller than Bennett was at this age, but still very healthy and on-target or advanced developmentally. He understands a lot of what we say, and he's learning new words all the time. He does this cute thing where he points to something and says in a questioning tone, "That?" or "What?" It's adorable. Yesterday, he was on the changing table and pointed to the wall and said "That wall." He's so smart--kids don't usually put two words together like that at such a young age.

I wish I could put a current picture of him up right now, he's so darn cute. He's got huge blue eyes and chubby cheeks and his first haircut makes him look so grown up. I know I'm a little bit biased, but I get a lot of confirmation of his adorableness from people in stores and restaurants, so I'm pretty sure he's empirically gorgeous.

Quinn is such an affectionate little guy. One of the first things he learned to do (after getting a modicum of control over his neck muscles) was give people kisses. He goes through stages where he's more generous or more stingy with them, but they are so sweet...if a little damp. He gives the sweetest hugs around the neck, too. He'll get excited and give a little squeal and throw his little arms around my neck and squeeze while grabbing my hair and it just steals my heart. He loves to sit on my lap and cuddle, but he's not a mommy-snob. He loves to snuggle with Daddy and Uncle Ty and Grammie and Granddaddy, too.

I've never seen a little baby who loves his daddy quite as much as Quinn does--when Steve comes home from work, Quinn lights up and gives an excited shriek. Then if Steve doesn't come straight to Quinn and pick him up, Quinn will cry like his little heart is broken. If I tell him "no" he usually thinks it's funny, but if Steve or Ty tell him "no," even gently and sweetly, he'll cry like you set his favorite toy on fire. Sometimes he even cries if he overhears one of them say the word no in a conversation with someone else. He's so sweet and tenderhearted.

Bennett and Quinn love each other so much. Quinn's first word was "brother." Well, it was "bwuh-vuh" but close enough. He can say "Bennett" now, too. Bennett got in trouble last night and had to spend some time in the crib upstairs, and Quinn kept looking at me with a quizzical expression and saying "Benna? Benna?" It was so cute. They like to play peek-a-boo with each other, and they both think it's hilarious when Bennett uses his toy giraffe's tail to tickle Quinn. They give each other hugs and kisses all the time, but Bennett usually holds on just a little too long because he loves his baby so much. Sometimes I hear Bennett explaining things to Quinn, or singing to him, or telling him a story. Quinn is so lucky to have such a sweet, loving big brother--I wish every baby could have a big brother like Bennett (yes, I know that's physically impossible, but it would make the world a better place).

I realize that this post probably isn't interesting to anyone except me and my kids' grandparents, but I couldn't let Quinn's birthday go by without singing his praises and bragging on how precious he is. We are so blessed to have such sweet, loving, smart, fun, cute, wonderful sons.