Sunday, January 25, 2009
Happy Kiss Kiss Day!
Quinn is starting to learn a few English words, and one of them is "kiss kiss." Say it when he's a good mood and he'll plant one on you. Today we took him to a Chinese New Year's celebration at the Tucson Children Museum and he was a little kissing machine.
Scary Chinese New Year's lions
Today we attended a Chinese New Year's celebration at the Tucson Children's Museum. Quinn did great through the whole thing -- until the lion dance that concluded the festivities. It had BIG lions and LOUD drumming.
He watched pretty happily while all the girls on the mat at the front of the room shrieked and ran screaming to their parents in the audience. Then about halfway through, the tears started, poor little guy.
He calmed down pretty quickly once Tom did some fun air lifts.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Helpful tip from DiGiorno
Cooking our weekly Friday night pizza, I just learned this from the first step on the DiGiorno Pizza instructions: "Do not eat pizza without cooking."
My first though: Is anyone really that stupid? My second thought: They probably have a good reason for writing that. I bet if I did some research I'd find some idiot who sued DiGiorno after breaking his tooth on a frozen mushroom. Amazing.
My first though: Is anyone really that stupid? My second thought: They probably have a good reason for writing that. I bet if I did some research I'd find some idiot who sued DiGiorno after breaking his tooth on a frozen mushroom. Amazing.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Smiles, smiles, smiles
Our biggest concern about Quinn when he met him was his refusal to smile. For weeks the only thing that would make him smile was his reflection in the mirror. Then he would smile when I tickled him, but not without prompting.
Well, worry no more - this kid has become a regular smile factory. They come fast and furious, and - best of all - often totally unsolicited. He smiles when he sees one of us, when he's tickled, when we play a game, when he teases me and most recently when he's done something he's especially proud of, like picking up and putting down his sippy cup like a big boy.
When smiles were once so fleeting, every one is now a huge, priceless gift.
Walking, wheels and wagons
Quinn got this slick red wagon from his Granddad Bill. He stood up behind it and used it as sort of a walker - he walked as he pushed the wagon for support. A gaggle of grownups stood around him to make sure he didn't fall, and he didn't.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A day in the life of Quinn-Quinn
Today started with Quinn in hyper-alert status. He was watching EVERYTHING and trying it out. It seemed like he was learning something - usually something I didn't want him to learn - every second. After breakfast he watched Buttons zip out the doggie door and decided to give it a try.
Next he saw me put a bottle of wine away and decided to open the wine cabinet (thank Goodness it has a lock!)
Then he noticed me taking pictures of him and became quite obsessed with the camera.
Then he saw me standing there and decided to climb up my leg.
Then he did some combat crawling around the house (notice the tail on the back of his romper - too cute!)
Then he took a VERY short break.
Then he noticed a cord (fear not; it's not plugged in) and decided to find out what would happen if he tugged on it.Not pictured: Quinn tries to climb into the dishwasher and tries to pull himself up onto the oven while I was boiling spaghetti. I'm exhausted!
Mama, I'm a big boy now!
About a month ago, Quinn learned to pull himself up into a stand. Since then he has done it about once a day, and always with great effort. This week he mastered the skill and now is standing up by pulling on my pant leg, our hands and especially this coffee table. He does it with great ease and speed. But there's a problem...
He can get up - hooray! ...
But he can't figure out how to get down - wah! All he can figure out is to cry until we come and get him.
Quinn ate his first finger food, but...
Eating has been a big issue for Quinn. Since the day we met him he has refused any food other than his bottle. Our best guess is that he was burned by some too-hot formula or congee, or was force-fed. He clearly suffered some sort of trauma and decided that food is not safe unless it comes in a bottle.
With help from an excellent feeding specialist and lots of patience, Quinn has found his own solution. He won't take food from a spoon, but he will take it from the nipple of his bottle. He started out eating a peppermint milkshake off the nipple, then moved on to juice. He stared making read headway in California, where he discovered clam miso soup and Japanese sweet beans. Now he'll eat anything that will stick on that nipple. We have retired the baby food and broken out the food chopper.
Quinn in action. Mashed sweet potatoes!
He occasionally will use a utensil now. Here he is testing a spoon designed by our feeding specialist. He also sometimes will take a lick from a Chinese soup spoon (there's one in the bowl).
Today was the first time he picked up food with his fingers and put it in his mouth. His first food of choice? Dog food! Most parents might be horrified, but we rejoiced. He didn't chew or swallow, but put a piece in his mouth, licked it and pulled it back out. I swapped him the kibble for some toddler banana puff crackers, and he stuck a couple of those in his mouth, but also pulled them out.
For us, that's real progress!
With help from an excellent feeding specialist and lots of patience, Quinn has found his own solution. He won't take food from a spoon, but he will take it from the nipple of his bottle. He started out eating a peppermint milkshake off the nipple, then moved on to juice. He stared making read headway in California, where he discovered clam miso soup and Japanese sweet beans. Now he'll eat anything that will stick on that nipple. We have retired the baby food and broken out the food chopper.
Quinn in action. Mashed sweet potatoes!
He occasionally will use a utensil now. Here he is testing a spoon designed by our feeding specialist. He also sometimes will take a lick from a Chinese soup spoon (there's one in the bowl).
Today was the first time he picked up food with his fingers and put it in his mouth. His first food of choice? Dog food! Most parents might be horrified, but we rejoiced. He didn't chew or swallow, but put a piece in his mouth, licked it and pulled it back out. I swapped him the kibble for some toddler banana puff crackers, and he stuck a couple of those in his mouth, but also pulled them out.
For us, that's real progress!
Okay, pictures!
Just when I thought he couldn't get any cuter:
Punk rock baby bath!
One sock, one upside-down boy (that's the refrigerator he's reverse-scaling).
What was supposed to be a sweet picture is instead a hilarious one. Wouldn't you love to know what he's thinking???
And finally, I know Christmas is over, but somehow I neglected to post my favorite picture from our holiday in California. This one is called, "Christmas dreams."
Punk rock baby bath!
One sock, one upside-down boy (that's the refrigerator he's reverse-scaling).
What was supposed to be a sweet picture is instead a hilarious one. Wouldn't you love to know what he's thinking???
And finally, I know Christmas is over, but somehow I neglected to post my favorite picture from our holiday in California. This one is called, "Christmas dreams."
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Some like it hot
Ever since Quinn started eating solids I've been worried about him not getting enough fluids. If I give him water in a bottle he takes a sip and gets VERY offended that it's not the good stuff and pushes - or throws - it aside.
Today, though, making tea for my mom and I, I remembered the day in Beijing when Tom and I asked for some water while we were having pastries at a fancy bakery, and we were served cups of hot water. We were told the Chinese believe that people, and especially children, cannot digest anything cold. Therefore everything, especially in winter, is served hot. I poured some hot water in his bottle and - hallelujah! - gulp, gulp, gulp. He drank the bottle dry (it was only about half full) and then drank about half of a second bottle.
Breakthrough!
Today, though, making tea for my mom and I, I remembered the day in Beijing when Tom and I asked for some water while we were having pastries at a fancy bakery, and we were served cups of hot water. We were told the Chinese believe that people, and especially children, cannot digest anything cold. Therefore everything, especially in winter, is served hot. I poured some hot water in his bottle and - hallelujah! - gulp, gulp, gulp. He drank the bottle dry (it was only about half full) and then drank about half of a second bottle.
Breakthrough!
Rapid acceleration
Quinn has entered a period of warp-speed development. It seems like he learns something new every day, usually right before our eyes. I'll post some new photos soon, but in the meantime here is a synopsis of what's up with the little guy:
- He has gone from taking only the bottle to eating anything he can get on the bottle nipple. Soup, mac and cheese, stew, mashed potatoes, rice, refried beans, cottage cheese, pudding, eggs. There seems to be nothing the boy won't eat. He still won't eat from a spoon or put food in his mouth with his fingers, but his self-created system is serving him quite well for now.
- He has learned to stand quite well, but his upper body is not developed well enough to him to walk. He hasn't figured out how to get down once he's up, though. He started screaming in the middle of the night, which is very unusual for him, and when I went into his bedroom he was standing there in his crib, with no clue how to get down. I helped him lay down and he sighed and went straight to sleep.
- He was gone from smiling only when tickled or prompted with crazy antics to giving us regular, unsolicited smiles and laughs. He has gone from serious and analytical to happy and analytical.
- He got a plastic box for Christmas with holes in the top and shapes to fit through those holes. He would randomly try a shape in a hole and if it didn't fit he'd give up. Even if he had it almost right and just had to shift the shape a tiny bit, he wouldn't do it. Now he picks up the shape, looks at the puzzle top and puts the right shape in the right hole. Yes, the star is still a bit hard, but hey, give the poor kid a break!
- He is winding down his feeding therapy - once he starts using a spoon and feeding himself finger foods weren't home free. Next up is occupational therapy, which started today, and physical therapy, which starts Friday. Keeping up with him and his appointments, plus squeezing in some work when time allows, definitely fills up the day!
- He has gone from one or two vowel sounds to a full vocabulary of consonant-studded baby babble.
- He has learned his first English world. Say, "clap, clap, clap," and that's exactly what he'll do.
- He is now mimicking our behavior. In California, when the adoption therapist told us he should be doing this, I assaulted him with "Twinkle Twinkle" so relentlessly that showing him jazz hands would make him cry. Now he claps with us and taps his hands on his knees when we sing.
- He has gone from taking only the bottle to eating anything he can get on the bottle nipple. Soup, mac and cheese, stew, mashed potatoes, rice, refried beans, cottage cheese, pudding, eggs. There seems to be nothing the boy won't eat. He still won't eat from a spoon or put food in his mouth with his fingers, but his self-created system is serving him quite well for now.
- He has learned to stand quite well, but his upper body is not developed well enough to him to walk. He hasn't figured out how to get down once he's up, though. He started screaming in the middle of the night, which is very unusual for him, and when I went into his bedroom he was standing there in his crib, with no clue how to get down. I helped him lay down and he sighed and went straight to sleep.
- He was gone from smiling only when tickled or prompted with crazy antics to giving us regular, unsolicited smiles and laughs. He has gone from serious and analytical to happy and analytical.
- He got a plastic box for Christmas with holes in the top and shapes to fit through those holes. He would randomly try a shape in a hole and if it didn't fit he'd give up. Even if he had it almost right and just had to shift the shape a tiny bit, he wouldn't do it. Now he picks up the shape, looks at the puzzle top and puts the right shape in the right hole. Yes, the star is still a bit hard, but hey, give the poor kid a break!
- He is winding down his feeding therapy - once he starts using a spoon and feeding himself finger foods weren't home free. Next up is occupational therapy, which started today, and physical therapy, which starts Friday. Keeping up with him and his appointments, plus squeezing in some work when time allows, definitely fills up the day!
- He has gone from one or two vowel sounds to a full vocabulary of consonant-studded baby babble.
- He has learned his first English world. Say, "clap, clap, clap," and that's exactly what he'll do.
- He is now mimicking our behavior. In California, when the adoption therapist told us he should be doing this, I assaulted him with "Twinkle Twinkle" so relentlessly that showing him jazz hands would make him cry. Now he claps with us and taps his hands on his knees when we sing.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
In Japan, the tradition is to cook all day on New Year's Eve and then just relax and eat all day on New Year's Day. So that's what we did!
For dinner we put Quinn in one of the many, many Chinese outfits we bought him in Guangzhou. This one is like a little ski suit - perfect for chilly Monterey Bay!
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